


Missing Pieces

by Nethvester



Series: Missing Pieces [1]
Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Origins, Out of Character, Sci-fantasy, actual torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 07:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 140,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15944507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nethvester/pseuds/Nethvester
Summary: It is hard to admit you're missing something in your life. Even harder to give pieces of yourself to fill in the holes in other's.The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.Use of any original character in this work is freely granted, but please credit me.





	1. A Place to Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> December of 2017 saw a friend of mine moving out of my life. As a parting gift she presented me with the web link to an online translation of Yamane Ayano's amazing works. I now own all the published English translations I can get my hands on. As much as I love "A Foreign Love Affair", "Crimson Spell", and "Love DNA +" it is the building story of Asami Ryuichi and Takaba Akihito that I return to over and over again. I'm certain notes are probably not for praising the original author but I had to since it is the only place provided.
> 
> This Universe is part of a long novel I've written that I will never have the guts to try and publish. It has sat mostly completed on a thumb drive in my desk drawer for nearly ten years. Asami and Takaba however match those original characters' dynamics so well I felt compelled to give them a place in my imagination's world. 
> 
> This work is unbeta'd.  
> Nursery Song was found here: https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2887
> 
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pain was hollow; hunger clawing at his insides having long become his daily normal. Just like the soft splats of the waves as they hit the old concrete wharves and the thump of the small tugboats rhythmically hitting the sides of their piers had become common. Cool air seeped through the cracks along the old building's sides and wound its way about the boy's shoulders. He tucked the thin summer blanket about the small, shivering body beside him. The sun had seemingly set earlier than normal and he peered up at the roof in worry. He didn't know if it could survive a pouring rain.

The boy looked up through broken wooden slats that had once patched the old warehouse's tin roof and waited for a brief hint that the moon would come out that night. Any hope he'd had was dashed as the first drops of rain tapped the metal with uneven beats. Soon enough the tempo increased and the previous sounds of the waterfront were drowned by the beat of pelting rain, the moan of driving wind, and the booming crack of thunder. Lightning hit near the building, the ground shook and years of dust of tumbled down from the rafters.

The body next to him coughed, a deep wracking sound too wet to have been caused by the tumbling dust and far too dry to be a fleeting allergy. The sound was also normal. He'd promised they'd be fine when they'd run from the foundation home.

They had been fine for the first few months after their world crumbled. His companion had been healthy enough to keep the tiny room they'd secured in a hi-rise complex's maintenance basement clean and tidy. She had also been able to keep up with the loads of laundry they were required to clean daily in order to earn the small space to sleep. Back then he'd been strong enough to take on paid errands; which kept them with just enough money they didn't starve. Some weeks they'd even able to afford cubes of instant beef or chicken stock flavoring to mix with the rice or noodles that had been put on sale the previous weekend.

He glanced down at the silvery hair working its way out of the thin blanket his companion was wrapped in and frowned with memories. I was never able to afford any meat or vegetables. The girl's face finally freed its self and coughed again before speaking, "Aki?" She pushed herself to her knees and looked around fearfully.

He reached over and drew her closer pulling the blanket over her hair, "Shush, Kai. Everything is fine; it is just rain." The girl nodded and closed her eyes again and pressed herself to his side. He could feel the shivers that ran through her and the cough that had settled into her chest rattled in fits of broken breaths against his. He wrapped both arms about her shoulders and tightened his arms as he whispered, "I'm sorry. We should have stayed at the foundation."

His twin shook her head, "No, they were hurting you." She wiggled free of his embrace and smiled up at him, "Safer here."

Memories rose to the surface of his thoughts again. Grasping hands and the resulting bruises covering him from the nights he'd spent away from her. They never bruised his face. It had been part of the agreement. The foundation superintendent and the man's friends were allowed privileges with the boy's body as long as there were no bruises for other's to see. No one was allowed to know what was done to him. He had tolerated it for nearly a year; since it had meant his sister got enough food and medication when needed. He had promised their adoptive parents he'd take care of her. It had been the last thing he'd said to them as they'd walked out of the small two bedroom apartment the family had shared.

Their parents had never returned from their adoptive father's pre-Christmas business trip. The man's spouse having joined to get the lost honeymoon she'd been denied as he'd had built his career. The boy had felt so adult being left in charge of the apartment and taking care of his younger sister. When the police had come to the apartment the afternoon their parents were supposed to have arrived home and instead asked if the two of them had any living relatives, had instead asked if they had any place to go, now that a drunken pilot had taken their parents, he had felt anything but adult.

However, Kaida had been sick the night before and he had long learned that stress could make her worse. So he'd squared his shoulders and calmly told the police and the concerned welfare workers that visited days later that they were fine. His parents while not rich had planned for the eventuality and set up a trust into which all of the Tabaka's death benefits were deposited. There were plenty of funds and the two preteens had an account off which they could live; he would be able to take care of them.

What he hadn't understood was that at fourteen he didn't have any say. The courts assigned a guardian. The man was granted access to the Takaba bank accounts and legal right over the few existing Takaba estate assets. Six months after his parent's death Akihito had tried to purchase a very small one person cake from a convenience store on his way home from school. The account was declined.

The next day their power was turned off and the landlady stood outside as the police helped the two of them pack the few personal items that were not going to be sold to pay off what he learned was six months of missing rent. The court appointed guardian, a man they had not even known existed, had cleaned out the accounts. All of the automatic payments his father had set up had stopped just days after they'd buried their parents. He remembered the social worker telling them they'd be safe at the foundation.

Lightening cracked across the sky causing the building to shake again pulling him from the memories. He smiled down at her and laughed, "Yeah, this place is so very safe."

Dust rained down on them again and his companion smiled back, "No monsters here."

She shivered again and he tried to gather her closer. Their body warmth wasn't much, as thin as they had become, but what they had was shared. She opened the blanket and wrapped part of it about his chest. She mumbled something he couldn't make out and they fell into fitful slumber backed by the loud staccato raindrops pounding the tin roof.

Several weeks later found him staring at a street hawker's cart. Akihito had, to date, never stolen anything in his eighteen years of life. Today was in fact the first time he'd ever seriously considered it. It had been nearly a month since his sister had gotten a full meal.

They had been forced from the tiny place they had found in Tokyo after first arriving nearly two years ago. The building's new manger had found out about their arrangement with person in charge of maintenance. He'd tossed them out with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Apparently the room they were living in was actually a storage room and it was illegal for them to be there.

That first night they had tried to stay at a train station. However, the underground locations for the trains that ran the width and breadth of the island also housed the access tunnels to the country's massive geothermic engines. No sooner had they settled to sleep on a vacant bench than a patrolman had roused them. The cop had held Aki by the scruff of his thread worn shirt and called social services. His sister had stomped on the officer's foot and they'd taken off running. That had been nearly nine months ago.

Since then they had been chased out of several locations that would have better suited them than the old warehouse on the nearly forgotten docks they currently slept in. However, travel by water in this century was only done by the extremely poor or the extremely wealthy since the movement of industrial and agricultural products had moved to the aerospace transport machines that flew in and out of the space port located far north of the lights of Tokyo. This made the old water port of Tokyo nearly deserted and the perfect sleeping spot for two desperate, homeless teens.

Aerial buses and underground electromagnetic trains were what moved goods across the islands. People moved similarly. Salaried workers and trades men often crushed against each other on the trains and buses or bumping together as they rushed along the walkways of the city center. All while the rich cruised past them in self-driving limos and sports cars while around them all rose hi-rise apartment buildings and huge shopping plazas. Steel, concrete, and glass sparkled about the middle and upper-class citizens of Japan's capital.

That of course was how it worked in the cleaner better maintained parts of the city. In Kōtō, where the streets were packed not because of the size of the buses or the multitude of people, but instead with the dead remains of centuries old vehicles and the debris of housing long past the point of being salvageable by even the best of handymen, lived the others of Tokyo. Mostly honest hard working folk not flashy, shiny, or in most cases clean enough to be out among the people that lived and worked in the other districts.

These streets were not filled with clearly marked walkways and clean bus benches every few blocks to prevent even the most adventurous from having to walk far to reach one. Here the line between street and side walk was blurred by numerous handcarts and the street vendors that manned them. There were no rules here about where or what stuff could be sold, no store fronts or closely guarded mall spaces cleaned daily and patrolled by ever vigilant beat cops. Around these streets rose towering apartment buildings long abandoned by those better off. The buildings full of broken windows and cavernous silence seemed to lean over the small streets, shadowing them from the warmth of the waning spring sun.

Yet, with money one could purchase almost anything, even in Kōtō. That was the problem Aki had at the moment. He'd been without any day jobs for over a week and no work meant no money. So, here he was standing at the edge of the tiny section of street where the fruit vendors sold their wares. Just out of his reach was a bucket of bruised apples and oranges. Bright fruit not normally found in their area during early May. However, the vendor was hawking their flavor and exotic existence, among the range of otherwise wilted vegetables the other stands held, with great success.

His hand reached out. He was just pulling it back empty when the hawker noticed him. "Hey! Thief!"

Aki looked up shaking his head, "No! I didn't touch them!"

The man grabbed his shirt and shook him, "Don't lie to me!" He pushed Akihito to the ground and stood over him. "I saw you. Where did you put it?"

Aki shook himself and pushed away from the man. He heard yells from others and the man turned to see who was yelling and Akihito took his moment of inattention to scramble to his feet. He looked over the man's shoulder to see what passed as law enforcement headed their way. They were bad news and he turned to run. A hand grabbed his shirt. As thread bare as the garment was, it held against the sharp tug the man gave it and Akihito was thrown onto the ground once more. He fought the hands that reached for him.

"No you don't you ugly gaijin! Settle down now!" The hawker yelled as he pressed Aki's face into the street's filth with a hand while a knee held him down. The pressure on his back increased when one of the enforcers took over holding him. He tried to protest when the hawker accused him of taking one of the fruits.  

The enforcers searched his clothing with bruising hands, but even after finding nothing Akihito was unable to prevent the series of events that followed. The enforcers were led by a short stocky man. His pot belly wasn't well contained by the flowery button up shirt he wore over dark grey pants that had seen better days. Aki cringed as the man bent over him recognizing the leer his face held. Aki shivered as the man ran a hand across his chest and down to his left hip grabbing it painfully as he laughed, "Looks like we've caught a thief, boys."

The group laughed as they dragged Akihito to his feet. The hawker nodded without looking directly at the potbellied man who looked between him and Akihito again before asking, "How much for the stolen goods, hawker?"

Aki didn't hear the amount but the potbellied man laughed and shoved several coins into the hawker's hands. He took Aki by the chin then, "Now you owe me boy." He turned and walked away. The two men with him dragged Aki behind him. He kicked and scratched as best he could before one of the men punched him in the gut hard enough to make him pass out.

Kaida stared out of their hiding place willing her brother to walk through the broken doors that separated the outside of the building from the inside. He was late. They had parted at dawn; promising to meet again before the sun set. She had been waiting for what felt like hours. The sun had long set beyond the western skyline and still no Aki.

She looked down at the cup of instant ramen she'd managed to obtain. The woman she'd met in the park that afternoon having been grateful for her help in watching the young children playing. She had wanted to get their daily groceries without the children underfoot and had paid Kaida with the ramen cup. Kaida had smiled and thanked her profusely. Next to the cup was a small, bottled water Kaida had obtained with the coins she'd earned dancing in the park earlier in the morning.

She frowned then; she was going to have to find a new park soon. The one she'd been performing in had gotten more cops and they were cracking down on unlicensed entertainers. It was the third location in as many months and Aki wouldn't let her go with him to perform any day work. She sighed and looked at the doors again. Where are you?

Her heart leapt in anticipation when one of the doors was pushed open. Only for it to plummet when she saw it was not her brother but a set of blonde men leading a group that moved several pallets of what her nose told her were oranges. She peered at the group as they maneuvered twelve wooden lidded, steel mesh boxes into the dirty warehouse. She heard one say in stilted Japanese, "Really Sudou this is the best you could do?"

The flashy dressed blonde snorted, "Next time give me more than a couple of days for your goods to make landfall." He broke open the top of one of the crates and plucked out one of the bright fruits, "Hard to believe this is contraband." He broke the fruit open. Blood red juice dripped from his finders before he tossed the pieces towards the stacked crates and bricks that made up Kaida's hiding spot.

Kaida just prevented herself from gasping at the waste. She was certain they could hear her stomach as it growled from the sweet smell. However they laughed and talked in a language she didn't understand and soon enough left pulling the double doors fully closed behind them. She looked up at the whole in the roof above her seeing the moon high in the sky and worried, "Aki where are you?"

At that moment Akihito was waking up to the sounds of a poorly played piano. He knew it was poor because Takaba-san, his adoptive mother, had once played professionally. That was before she had met Takaba-shi, her photographer husband, fallen in love, married, and after several unsuccessful attempts to carry had adopted near twins. He could still remember her playing Brahms and Chopin as well as American Jazz and Ragtime on the nights Takaba-shi was out working late. In fact he recognized the song filtering through the walls around him; the pianist was butchering the end of it. He also recognized the next tune that started up with a harmonica and winced when the pianist missed the first notes of The Piano Man.

He took stock of his surroundings and sighed. He'd been in backrooms like this before; though being tied up and nearly naked was new. The bed was narrow topped with a cheap futon and even cheaper sheets. The small table next to it was barely large enough for the empty water urn sitting on it. He wasn't certain what had happened in the hours, he prayed it wasn't days, he had been unconscious. However from his current location and lack of clothes he could make a pretty good guess. The potbellied enforcer had sold him to one of the many brothels that littered the back alleys of north Kōtō-ku prefecture. Well at least I'm still near the old wharves.

He twisted his wrists; smiling to himself as the ropes loosened. He was just about free when the lock on the door rattled. He ripped his hands from the bonds bloodying his wrists and stood up as the door opened. A dark haired man filled the doorway. He was hairy with a small goatee. His fitted flashy shirt open except for the last two buttons near the tail showed off piles of curled chest hair. His eyebrows were bushy and his head was crowned with thick long curly locks that looked like they'd be greasy if touched. He wore black, thick framed glasses.

The man leered at him and Aki backed up against the wall as he approached. Akihito flinched as the man reached for him then brought up his knee sharply. The man bent over grasping his crotch in pain and groaning. Akihito rushed out of the room. He found himself running down a long hallway. He nearly ran headlong into a woman leading a rather drunken man into another room as he hurried along. Swerving left through swinging double doors he found himself in a filthy kitchen. Workers yelled and pushed him out of the way as they moved in and out of the smoke filled bar area beyond another set of double doors on the left wall.

Aki paused and glanced around before cutting past angry cooks and waiters towards the door he'd seen a boy returning from. Surely that was an alley he could run down. He just made it out the door into the narrow space between the building and its closest neighbor when he heard the shout he'd feared. The voice yelled for someone to catch him; luck was on Aki's side though and he found the dumpster was near the other building's fire escape. He clambered up the side and jumped onto the bottom rung of the broken ladder.

He reached the first landing as the back door slammed open. He paused after thrusting himself against the brick wall. There were no lights in the alley and he held his breath in the hopes they'd assume he'd run down the alley and not have braved the jump to the ladder. He closed his eyes which had always shone unusually bright in low light and willed the darkness to hide him. He didn't see the shadows deepen around him.

Akihito felt his luck hold as the two burly men chasing him were sent down the alley by the hairy man yelling after them to find the boy and bring him back. The man didn't think he'd get far on the streets. Akihito cracked his eyes so he could watch but didn't move again until the door had closed behind the hairy brothel owner. He then climbed the rest of the old fire escape and crossed the bulk of Kōtō-ku over the roof tops. He was forced to return to the ground when spacing between the buildings widened as he approached the old port of Tokyo.

He looked at the sky and cursed; the moon was low in the west. He prayed Kaida had not gone looking for him. Akihito approached the warehouse they had taken to sleeping in from the water side. He always came from that direction since it meant he could weave in and out of the old transport cars left abandoned in their stacks. This enabled him to ensure he wasn't followed or if he was, he could lead whoever it was away from his sister before losing them in the maze of the old port's buildings.

The doors were pulled shut, unusual since they had started crashing here but not enough to rouse suspicion. Aki pulled them open and eased into the building quietly. It was late and with any luck his sister had fallen asleep waiting for him to return. The building smelled differently, but his nose was still full of the scents of the cloyingly perfumed but unwashed bodies of the brothel and he couldn't tell what the new smell was. He skirted close to the edge of the building as that was the only area where he could see in the dim moonlight and made his way to the blind he and Kaida had created with old crates, pallets, and shipping boxes when they first moved in.

He smiled as he saw Kaida, curled up in their thickest blanket and asleep, come into view. Next to her sat a water bottle, a large cup of instant ramen, and what Aki only realized on closer inspection were two small red oranges. He tried to be quiet as he sat down next to her, but his brush against her arm jerked her awake.

She smiled when she saw him but scolded, "We promised to meet at sundown? I was so worried!" She clasped her arms about him before asking, "Aki where are your clothes?"

"Sorry, Kai. I was still trying to find work and they got so messed up I took them off outside," Akihito figured he could blame them being missing in the morning on the stray dogs that sometimes roamed the port. He settled down, shivered at the cold seeping from the concrete floor, and pointed at the food, "Looks like dinner is on you tonight."

His sister looked at the meager offering and nodded, "Sorry it isn't more. The police are chasing off anyone without a license these days." She picked up the ramen, "I got this babysitting some kids so their mother could shop in peace."

Akihito laughed; he could remember the terrors the two of them were some shopping days. He pulled out one of their matches from the small stash of things they kept at the warehouse. Two thread bare winter sweaters they always slept in, a smaller blanket they used as a pillow in the heat and for additional warmth in cold, and a small cloth pouch containing a box of matches, two pairs of chopsticks, and small cooking pot with its handles missing. Aki had earned the stuff dumpster diving for a woman's lost wedding ring. He'd found it and earned nearly a thousand yen that day.

He'd had to bathe in the sea water around the port several time to get the smell of rotting food out of his clothes, however the dive had netted them the blanket and the cloth bag for free. The money had enabled him to feed the two of them for nearly three meals as well as afforded them the small treasure of working matches along with something they could actually cook in.

Aki wrapped the smaller blanket about his waist and pulled on his sweater before pulling the few pieces of wood he scavenged for into a small pile inside the ring of broken concrete he'd built to hold any fire they started. They kept the fire small, too small to warm them. It was just enough to heat the small amount of water they needed for the ramen though. They both huddled over the steaming bowl as they slurped up the noodles. Aki carefully ate less than his sister and pressed her to drink the remaining liquid. They carefully rinsed the plastic cup and drank the used water before storing it along with their chopsticks back in the cloth bag.

Kaida pulled the oranges over and handed one to Akihito, "Happy Birthday."

Aki took the fruit and smiled before frowning, "How did you afford these?"

Kaida looked down at her toes peeking through the ends of worn tennis shoes before answering, "I stole them from the crates those men stored in the warehouse earlier."

Aki looked at her disbelieving, "What crates?"

Kaida rose and pointed around the side of their screen to the two large crates Aki had not seen in the building's shadows when he arrived. Now that he saw them he realized that he should have noticed the smell of oranges was to strong be accounted for by just two. He looked back at his sister and nodded, before sighing, "I guess we're going to have to find another building."

Kaida nodded sadly, "Yeah, it's too bad I liked this one."

Aki sat down on the cold concrete and shivered again. His sister shimmied out of her ripped blue jeans and held them out. Akihito shook his head, "I'm not taking your pants, Kai."

"You're freezing, and don't think I don't know something has happened to the only clothes you had. You didn't even take them off after you went dumpster diving in April." He pushed the pants at him. "Look you don't have to tell me what happened, but you can't work if all you have on is underwear."

He shook his head again, "No, you need the warmth." He pressed the jeans back towards her, "Besides they'll be too short on me." Kaida frowned and crossed her arms; Akihito sighed knowing from experience that once her arms crossed there would be no reasoning with her, "Fine. At least put on your sweater though. I know that tee shirt is long enough to be a dress but it isn't nearly warm enough."

She smiled and did as he bid her. He slipped on the jeans, they were made for boys several years younger than him but lack of food had thinned him out nearly everywhere but his bottom. This allowed the jeans to fit though they were snug in the behind and looked more like a pair of cutoffs than proper pants. He was warmer, however.

Kaida pulled him down to sit near the nearly burned out fire and handed him the orange again before saying, "Well go by the temple tomorrow; maybe someone's left some more shoes."

Aki nodded, "Perhaps the monks will have clothing to give away." He looked down at his orange and then put it in the small cloth sack, "I think I'll save this for offering."

Kaida looked down at fruit in her hands and then reached to put it away as well; Aki stilled her, "I think one should be enough for both of us." He peeled the fruit and pressed it back into Kaida's hands, "here eat."

The juice ran like blood across her fingers and she looked up smiling as she pulled the fruit in half and pressed part of it back into her brother's palms, "Let's share it." They ate in silence and once finished curled together with the blankets. Kaida softly sang a lullaby Takaba-san had taught them as they slipped into sleep.

Yurikago no uta o (A canary sings)

Kanariya ga utau yo (A cradle song)

Nenneko Nenneko (Sleep, sleep,)

Nenneko yo (Sleep, child!)

 

Yurikago no ue ni (Above the cradle,)

Biwa no mi ga yureru yo (The loquat fruits sway)

Nenneko Nenneko (Sleep, sleep,)

Nenneko yo (Sleep, child!)

 

Yurikago no tsuna o (A squirrel rocks)

Kinezumi ga yusuru (The cradle by its rope)

Nenneko Nenneko (Sleep, sleep,)

Nenneko yo (Sleep, child!)

 

Yurikago no yume ni (Dreams in a cradle,)

Kiiroi tsuki ga kakaru yo (With the yellow moon shining down)

Nenneko Nenneko (Sleep, sleep,)

Nenneko yo (Sleep, child!) 

Asami looked out over the nearly still waters of Tokyo Bay. He was one of the few that could remember the once bustling port it used to be. He smiled grimly before mentally reminding himself he was one of the few remaining creatures that could remember when Tokyo was little more than wood clapped houses with dirt floors crowding narrow muddy streets on all but the driest of summer days. Part of him missed the acrid smell of dust, horses, fresh caught fish, and cloying spices that had filled the ancient open market of what was now an unused, centuries' old water port. Even the few craft that still moored here were modern with their clean hydrogen or solar engines regardless that their decrepit upkeep stated otherwise.

His limo slid to a stop near the only warehouse still retaining doors in the whole of the area. He grunted when Kirishima his secretary announced they had arrived at the location Mikhail had been able to pull from his informant about the illegal shipment.  Asami had not planned on leaving the penthouse tonight. It was a full moon, and his kind was always temperamental the three days surrounding the event. Luckily it was not a blue, a super, or Kami forbid a super, blue moon.

The only thing worse than those nights were lunar eclipses and those only because of the lassitude they brought on. He would forever be eternally grateful to the human that had figured out the cause and better yet the mathematics to predict when those would occur. Yet here he was in the last of the predawn darkness inspecting an illegal shipment that wasn't even his.

Suoh his trusted bodyguard opened the door to the classic limo. It was technically illegal to drive on Tokyo's streets. Human's long ago having determined that computers made better drivers on the electromagnetic roads of Japan than they could ever be. Asami felt authorities should be glad he at least road around in one with a hydrogen engine. Unlike his counterpart in Russia he did not enjoy the smell of burning diesel.

A small self driven box truck came to a stop behind the limo seconds after Asami exited the car. He paused and lit one of his Dunhill's, another item technically illegal inside the city. Tobacco had been successfully outlawed nearly a hundred years ago. Kirishima, knowing which way the vote in the United Nations would go had thoughtfully squirreled away several hundred pallets of his lord's favorite cancer stick. His longtime friend had taken great delight in presenting Asami a box with the familiar Red label several hours after Asami had thought he'd smoked his last one.

He only ever really smoked them to clear his nostrils of unwanted smells. This evening had been spent with the Japanese Prime Minister and her overly perfumed wife. The two women were lovely, great conversationalist, and understood just what role his people played in the greater scheme of world politics. They were overly pleased that his family chose to remain on Earth when many of his kind had long sought the starts and new planets to inhabit. Dinner and the following theater performance he'd attended with them had been nearly nauseating with their smell though. The smoke, therefore, was justified.

He pulled another drag from the stick and flicked the ashes onto the pier. He probably didn't even need to be here tonight. The small matter was something he could have let Kirishima or even Suoh handle. Illegally imported oranges, even when actual covers for drugs, were rather tame when compared to other matters he dealt with. Still Arbatov had insisted he check whatever it was that man's competitors had smuggled onto the island; apparently there were several bad batches of the newest narcotic working their way through the underground.

His men circled the building reporting back minutes later that everything appeared clear. He gestured to the men near him to open the double doors. He was proceeded inside by Suoh and three of the man's best trained guards. Weapons were drawn but lowered with safety switches locked. He followed them inside seconds later with Kirishima behind and on his right leaving his left hand clear to pull his own Ceska should it be needed. His men shone spot lights on two metal shipping boxes. The warehouse smelled of oranges, overlying the sting of chemical pharmaceuticals, and blood.

The blood reminded Asami of the plums and peaches found in the orchards of his childhood home. Fruits he'd regularly gorged himself on before he'd come of age. He found himself pulled towards the back of the warehouse barely resisting the compulsion to run towards whatever was leaking that blood and feast upon it. The urge was overwhelming until he was able to squeeze his eyes closed and stop the blood lust welling in his brain. Asami looked at his two most trusted men; they did not seem to have noticed his lapse. Though Kirishima closed his own eye briefly and shook his head as if to clear it. Asami had not been that close to a blood rage in centuries.

Rather than dwell upon the ungrounded sensation Asami decided to seek out the source of the delicious smell. Perhaps there was someone worth snaking upon nearby. Since only non-humans would have picked up the smell of blood and even fewer species would have picked up the drugs. They followed the faint smell to the back right corner of the warehouse. There someone had built a clever blind. Had the blood not drawn them even Asami would have thought the tumble of crates, boxes, and concrete blocks was nothing more than rubbish.

Kirishima and Suoh stepped around the carefully arranged pile with their weapons drawn. Asami followed and paused at the sight before him. Two human children lay wrapped together. The larger male enfolded the smaller female in a vain attempt to provide warmth on the freezing concrete. Their hair was blonde though filthy and the little bit of skin visible among the streaks of dirt and scant moonlight that filtered through the broken roof was pale, nearly translucent.

At first Asami thought the two shivered from the cold and still sought the source of the blood. Kirishima moved to the two children and gently turned them over. The blood source was apparent then. It leaked from their noses and eyes. Asami knelt near the boy his own heart slowing as Kirishima pulled the thin blanket from them. They were too thin but it wasn't until they had been turned to lie on their backs that he understood what had happened.

The children's fingers were covered with the juice of blood oranges. At least one had been taken from the shipment and eaten. The drugs, sloppily packaged and poorly hidden along the bottoms of the crates, had leaked and the fumes had penetrated the sweet smelling fruit. Suoh held up a peel and shook his head. Kirishima sighed, "If I was as hungry as they look, I'm not certain I'd have stopped at one."

Asami stared at the two forms lying before him. They were as much alike as they were different. Both were blonde, both were pale of skin, and both smelled like the sweetest fruit he'd ever come across. The girl was small, petite in a way his kind never were with an oval face, tilted eyes, and lashes darker than her hair. The boy though wasn't much shorter than his own hundred and eighty-five centimeters. His face was also sharper, having higher cheek bones, narrower eyes, and lashes as pale as his hair. 

The biggest different though was their smell. The girl reminded him of plums warmed in the summer sun picked just before they burst from ripeness. The kind his family's cook had always used to make jams and pickled preserves. The boy however smelled like fresh peaches; the only sweet Asami had ever enjoyed.

Their breaths started coming in wheezing pants and blood gushed from the girl's mouth as she started coughing. The boy stirred; his eyes moved rapidly behind their lids and Asami could tell he fought to open them. His body jerked awake and he threw himself into a sitting position nearly knocking Asami over as his arms thrashed about to find balance.

He failed to notice the three men around them as he turned to the girl calling, "Kaida! Kaida, wake up!" The boy cried as he rubbed at the blood around her nose and eyes, "Please wake up!"


	2. Not Supposed to Exist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive my use of Google Translate. I did my best to validate via several translation sites but I make no promises.  
> \-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akihito had been dreaming. He'd had the dream only twice before. Once had been when Kaida and he had still been at the orphanage where their respective birth parents had abandoned them. The second time was the night before he had overheard the foundation's superintendent tell a colleague he could use Kaida the same way they had been using Akihito.

The dream was always the same a bright white light piercing his eyes so bright that he couldn't discern what the shadows beyond were made of. At the same time the shadows closed in on him not cutting the brightness but still choking him. Stealing his air to the point he couldn't even scream. Something terrible was happening. Aki fought with the darkness until he ripped his eyes open through sheer willpower.

He jerked up and turned to his sister. He could hardly see. Something thick ran from his eyes and blurred his vision. He tried waking Kaida but she didn't even moan. He called her and felt her face with his fingers. Her cheeks were covered with thick liquid. Blood.

Asami watched as the boy stilled. The air about them thickened before he and his men watched as the boy pulled his companion back from the land of the dead. The warehouse about them grew dark as every proton associated with the flood lights was drawn by the boy's will. Light streamed from the boy's fingers and funneled down into the girl's chest. The girl gasped a breath opened her eyes and reached for the boy's hands.

The light he gathered danced between their palms growing in brightness like sunlight bouncing between two mirrors. It grew until Asami and his men had to cover their eyes. Then just as suddenly as the light had gathered it winked out leaving the building dark except for the remaining beams of moonlight. The boy collapsed across the girl's chest.

Asami ignored the shouts of his other men and looked up at his oldest friends in shock, "Sanrantaru?!"

"Unbound given their state of health," responded Kirishima. He pushed his glassed up before kneeling next to the girl and placing his fingers against her throat. "The boy removed the poison in her."

He reached for the boy, but Asami beat his fingers. The youngster was pulled into Asami's arms and Asami checked his condition and inhaled the young man's scent. "He's clean also. Get the girl." He stood with the boy in his arms saying, "Suoh, get those crates out of here before some other waif comes along and eats those things. Dispose of the drugs. I don't want that filth running around Tokyo."

Kirishima gently pulled the girl into his arms and stood as well. He followed his boss out of the warehouse and carefully placed her across the bench seat on the opposite side of the limo from where Asami sat cradling the boy. He entered the driver's seat of the limo and instructed the vehicle to take them back to Asami's penthouse. He glanced once in the rear view mirror before closing the partition and concentrating on the surrounding buildings.

The boy was much too light. The sweater he wore to thin even for the warm May evening and Kami help him, the boy smelled even more like peaches now that the taint of badly processed drugs were cleaned from his system. Asami closed his eyes and slowed his own breathing before pulling out another cigarette and lighting it. He blessed the stick as the smell of burning tobacco and paper filled his nostrils. The two in the limo with him now were no longer convenient snacks.

Sanrantaru, or Radiants as they were now called, were taboo. His people had strict laws against their creation. Jō, Chief Sovereign of families, like Asami were allowed to create as many Mizus, Chikyūs, Kūkis, and Kasais as they could control. After all, a Jō's power stemmed from his connection to the four magical pillars of the universe. These days the names of the elements had changed and the list had greatly expanded but the roles of the Waters, Earths, Airs, and Fires of his people had never diminished.

Airs retained the power to manipulate the gaseous elements. Earths continued to control the solid ones and Waters could still warp the liquids to whatever they desired. Fires still pushed and pulled upon the heat generated by the entire universe. It was no wonder that the strongest of his people had created multiple practitioners of each.

Radiants however were a breed apart. They governed the essence of sight and sound. Though even that was a simplification of what they could control. At one time his people had believed they were the strongest mage to create. Wars were fought to protect the ones a Jō had or to take them from others.

However his people lived a long time, birthrates were never high, and while his race fought over the rare Radiants; human's slowly left the wilds they had been formed from and moved into the greater world. They built villages, then towns, then cities. They bred quickly and adapted faster.

His people soon found they were fighting not just each other but the human's they had long believed to primitive to worry about. For every human that lost his life attempting to take over lands Asami's people had traditionally controlled three more were born. It was a bid to ensure his people survived the encroaching humans that brought the warring factions to the truce table.

His people separated the world into smaller governable segments granting the most powerful families dominion over areas that were formerly ignored. Human settlements were similarly split among them and each family agreed that one another's Radiants were no longer allowed to be stolen. His people retreated to their family estates and settled to governing the world from the shadows. Then one of them had learned they could turn humans.

It brought about a new set of problems. The worst events were those in Western Europe and China. The less powerful their people brought humans into the fold some with temptations of power others by force and enslavement. The older houses preached against the practice lecturing the lower families about polluting their bloodlines but the practice didn't stop. Human kings, queens, generals of armies, and emperors were all tempted by the power his people could give them.

The lessor families shared their blood with certain humans. The humans gained powers over the four pillars of creation to various degrees. In return they aided the lessor families in the power struggles among themselves. Soon enough petty confrontations over control of land and resources spilled over into the human world leading to war, famine, and spreading disease.

The older most powerful families of Asami's race finally stepped in and utilized their Radiants to clean up the squabbling. For a short while things returned to peace. Then one of the very small families, in what is now called Germany, discovered how to turn humans into Radiants.

The cycle started over, only this time more than just a handful of humans noticed. His race was exposed in some manner in nearly every country and once again Western Europe pushed the boundaries of propriety. The Victorian Age saw a nearly boundless human attraction with power, especially if it came from what they considered the occult. Many of his people's lessor families took advantage of the fascination. More humans were subjected to the process of turning in those sixty-four years than all the previous years before.

The results lead to what the world would eventually call World War I. Though, it was near the end of World War II before the last of the families attempting to utilize the humans for greater power were brought to heel. Unfortunately, by the time the most powerful families intervened his people could no longer survive without human blood. Worse his people started aging. They still retained their long lives but where before death was only possible if one were actively struck down by another of their kind now they perished for other reasons.

Not long after the Americans dropped the hydrogen bomb on Hiroshima, the longest lived of their people grew old. The health, strength, and vitality they had long taken for granted deserted their bodies. The biggest hit to their people though was the inability to procreate. Full blooded mates could no longer carry children to term. Only families that turned a human surrogate could bring children into the world.

Their greatest minds worked on the problem and discovered that the root was simpler than they knew. Their purpose in the world had been warped; the majority of families had long stopped protecting the planet and their actions had allowed nature to be defiled. In return the earth no longer supported them. The same minds determined that their best hope was to turn as many willing humans as possible. However, the process did not always work and was painful in the extreme; it was nearly impossible to find willing human participants without ulterior motives.

Many families turned to forcing the change on any human identified as even remotely viable. The years after World War II brought about a new unprecedented number of turnings. These however were forced and often children were brought over as soon as they were identified. Once again humans became interested in what they were doing. Only this time the human governments weren't as easy to pacify and took advantage of the smaller families. Countries enlisted their people as soldiers and used them to infiltrate other governments. In exchange they received nearly unrestricted access to that country's human population.

The lessor families grew in power; with their few Jōs often controlling armies of minimally constrained Waters, Earths, Airs, and Fires. Worse they broke hundreds of human children to get barely a handful of functioning Radiants. That's when people outside the governments started noticing.

The oldest families had to step in again, this time to prevent the complete ousting of their race to the general populace. Once they had reined the out of control groups in, their people created new laws about converting humans. It was now a necessity to have constraints in place with appropriate consequences for failure to follow the rules.

Families were banned from converting a human without full disclosure to both the human in terms of what was going to happen to them and to the other families about who was joining them. They built legal precedents to follow and agencies to grant the privilege via contracts to both the humans and the families that wanted to turn someone.

One of the rules was the human had to be of consenting age. Since the world at large then didn't have a standard his people choose twenty-one. That was when their own younglings were considered of age anyway. The other rule was that no human, even if willing, could be converted into a Collector.

It was not out of fear of the Collector's power. It was because the process to create a Collector from a human was more than just painful. It required the human to undergo horrendous physical and physiological torture before being turned. Often the humans didn't survive the process. Since only humans that would normally be Fires could in turn become Radiants the removal of children as subjects had drastically reduced the number that could have been created anyway.

Asami adjusted the boy in his arms as the familiar streets of Shinjuku came into view outside his darkened window. A few minutes later saw him and Kirishima exiting the dark limo in the building's garage. They used their special codes to force the elevator to skip any other floor calls and were soon carrying their charges up to Asami's penthouse.

His home took up the entire top floor though only half the floor was actual living space. The elevator opened to a long marble hallway. There were three doors in same wall as the exit from the elevator, but they carried the near children to the lone door on the opposite side. Asami paused to allow the computer to recognize his face and to run his finger across the small bio scanner. The door slid open revealing a large tiled genkan.

Asami removed his shoes and carried his charge down the short hallway around a corner and into the smaller of the two bedrooms. Kneeling, he gently laid the boy atop the puffy comforter covering the queen sized mattress. Kirishima rounded the large futon and placed the girl down as well.

Both were filthy and while the dirt and grime getting on the expensive comforter didn't bother Asami he knew that both of the youngsters would sleep more comfortably once clean. "Could you fill the tub for me, Kei?"

Kirishima looked up from his perusal of the girl and nodded, "Though washing them may wake them up."

Asami picked up the boy's hand nearest him, held it in the air and then dropped it. A soft plunk was heard as it landed hard on the mattress. Neither of the sleeping forms moved. "I doubt they are going to wake. You know how hard elemental manipulation is. They're children; with what they did this evening I doubt they'll wake any time soon."

"This morning," Kirishima said as he set about removing the girl's clothing.

"Huh?" Asami glanced at his friend briefly while he took care of the boy by pulling the pants free of his hips and down his legs. Asami almost missed Kirishima's reply as the bruises and scrapes littering the boy's skin came into view.

Kirishima frowned at the girl's similar condition, "This morning. We were at the warehouse around three this morning." He gestured to the large heavily draped windows. "The sun is already rising." He left the girl's underwear on her. Not that they covered much. Her panties and bra, unlike her outerwear, which was much too large, were nearly too small on her bony frame. He picked up the clothing they'd stripped from the two guests. "I'll dispose of these."

Asami nodded as he stared at the boy, "Turn up the heat. It's still chilly this early in May." He reached out and ran a hand along the boy's long legs.

Kirishima could tell he was looking for any deeper trauma than the visible bruises; he glanced at the girl again and felt his eyes narrow, "Should I have Riki- hakase come to look at them?"

Asami nodded, "Make the arrangements and have one of the shops send clothes for them." He rose from his knees and exited the guest room. "I have to speak with Arbatov about that shipment."

Kirishima bowed, "Yes, sir."

"Call me when the bath is ready." Asami swept past his right hand man down the hallway of bedrooms and into the great room slash living area where he stopped to pour himself a fifth of scotch. He carried the drink into his office at the opposite end of the penthouse. The workplace took up nearly a quarter of the apartment and was the most traditional room in the place.

The marble flooring was surrounded by dark teak wooden paneled walls. The desk was heavy Japanese maple as were the three guest chairs facing it. The four black book shelves along the walls were filled with old leather bound volumes of Japanese history. Several oil paintings and one enlarged black and white photo hung under special lighting along one wall. The only modern nod the room contained was the thick leather office chair hovering behind the large desk and the small white tablet sitting on top.

The room he entered could only account for about a third of the space at this end of the penthouse. Most of the space was actually beyond a door hidden behind one of the book shelves. It was that door he opened, sliding the bookcase to the left and pressing his left ring finger to the bio scanner. Silently the formerly locked door slid into the surrounding wall.

Beyond the opening was a thoroughly modern office. Computers lined one wall with several two meter or larger screens on the wall above them streaming information. There were two entry stations. Smaller screens, infrared keyboards and bio feedback headsets arranged neatly for use on small tables. The center of the room held a waist high white table. It was currently covered in holographic images of a jungle. Someone was moving through it and the images changed as that person's perspective did.

Asami glanced at the table and snorted; Kei would be vastly irritated that his younger brother was skipping college again. The young man was apparently on yet another unscheduled holiday. Asami set his drink down and touched the table top switching the halo-vid to display the penthouse. He saw Kirishima speaking to the video phone in the living room before he focused the table's view on the guest room. His two guests lay just as they had left them.

He tapped the table again and the video separated into two focused shots of their faces. With a flick of his wrist he sent both images to the closest terminal and sent off the inquiries he had. Once he received confirmation from his team on their assignments he turned to the larger screens. He didn't intend to delve deeply into any of the waiting messages. Kei would have the bath ready soon, but he did scan the notices and pull out the most recent one from Arbatov.

He sipped the drink as he read the message. Asami frowned and flicked his wrist again. Fingers seemingly danced as he instructed his system to connect him via video to Arbatov's office in Volgograd. It took several seconds for the link to be established and the man's office to come into view. "Arbatov, dobroye utro. (Arbatov, Good Morning)"

"Anata wa kamotsu o mitsukemashita ka? (Did you find the cargo?)" the Russian replied. It was one of the few things Asami liked about the man. With Asami, Arbatov never wasted time with small talk. "Watashi no jōhō-gen ga shisa shite iru yō ni, soreha osen sa rete imashita ka? (Was it contaminated, as my source implied?)"

"Da, ya nashel gruz i da, on byl zarazhen. Nam nuzhen vash istochnik, chtoby nayti ikh kontakt zdes', v Tokio. (Yes, I found the load and yes, it was infected. We need your source to find their contact here in Tokyo.)"

The blonde man nodded before continuing in English, a language both spoke better than Arbatov spoke Japanese or Asami spoke Russian, "I have already instructed him to find the contact. I assume that since the person is allowing contaminated goods into your turf you will take care of the problem."

"I will deal with the issues on my end; you need not be concerned." Asami glanced back at the halo table; he'd intentionally stood where it wasn't visible in the call. "I expect a call in the coming days that your end is dealt with as well. I don't appreciate interlopers in Russia putting my people at risk."

"Da. I am already close to shutting them down. Are you still open to talks about the new military engines? I have several buyers eager to obtain them." Arbatov picked up a tablet and tapped it. "One at least is willing to pay three times market price."

"I am still thinking on that. The new engines give Japan a distinct advantage with interstellar shipping. I'm not certain I want to leak them to the greater world yet." Movement on the halo table caught his attention. The boy was tossing his head and his hands were twitching. Asami didn't want the young man to awake just yet. He looked directly at his Russian counterpart before saying, "Get back to me soon. Blagosloveniya vashey sem'i. (Blessings upon your family.)"

"I hope to have the name before the week is out. Anata no kazoku ni shukufuku. (Blessings upon your family.)"

Both men cut the connection after the formal farewell. Asami strode out of the inner office and through the outer one. Kirishima was just exiting the bathroom steam bellowing out from the door as he stepped out. "The bath is ready, sir. I thought I'd stay and help with the girl until they are settled."

Asami nodded, "The boy seems to be stirring."

The two men traversed the hall and entered the guest room. Both were restless upon the futon. The girl's eyes moved rapidly and her hands twitched at her sides in response to some dream. The boy was clearly agitated. His breaths came in short pants around soft moans. The hands that twitched at his sides suddenly rose in a classic defensive measure. They came off the bed and wrapped his arms about his head covering his face. His legs pulled up as he rolled to his side clearly attempting to protect his stomach. The girl started to blink her eyes and the hand closest to the boy reached towards him.

Asami knelt next to the boy, pulling him into the shelter of his chest before whispering into his hair, "Shush, you're safe." He was shocked when his longtime friend did the same for the girl. He could just make out similar words being repeated by the usually stoic man.

Akihito felt himself pulled from his nightmare. He'd known he must be dreaming since it had been nearly two years since he had last been in the foundation's superintendent's office. The dream was typical of its kind. It would start with him standing in front of a seated man. Then someone behind him would kick the backs of his knees forcing him to kneel. The man would yank his hair and press his thumb into Akihito's jawbone eventually forcing the boy's mouth open.

Akihito would then spend several minutes sucking the man off. He was always let go just as the man climaxed. Then the man would push Akihito and his cum covered face away in disgust. All while telling Akihito how nasty and lewd he was. Hands followed; belonging to people Akihito could never really see. They pulled at his clothes, often ripping them off before setting about gripping his hair and face. They'd force him; taking their pleasure in his mouth and anus. Hitting and slapping him even though he didn't actively fight them. Then they'd bring in Kaida.

No matter what age he was in the dream, Kaida was always the same. She was tiny and always clutching the teddy that had been left with her at the orphanage's door. In his dream she was never older than five or six. Aki always started fighting then; he'd long stopped caring what was done to him, but he'd kill before they harmed Kaida. That was when the beatings started.

Akihito tried to wake himself but terror overrode his attempts as his dream dragged Kaida to the seated man. He screamed and shoved at the others until one would strike him solidly in his stomach following the punch with a hard slap to his face. He could never help curling up against the pain. He'd beg at that point promising to do whatever they wanted as long as they would leave Kaida alone.

He usually heard Kaida begging at that point. This time though Kaida wasn't crying his name. Instead a deep baritone broke through his terror. The deep timbre and soothing tone filtered through his thoughts insisting they were safe. The smell of sweet cloves and pungent tobacco filled his nose clearing the dream scents from his senses and warmth he'd long ago determined he'd never feel again eased along his skin. The room in his dream faded; Kaida was safe. It was ok for him to relax.

Akihito woke to a warm white linen shirt resting against his cheek. The voice from the end of his dream rumbled soothing noises and Aki found himself pressing closer. The owner of the shirt chuckled and ran a hand along Aki's thigh. It was then Akihito realized he was naked and wet.

Asami gripped the boy closer when he started trashing. The boy sat on Asami's lap wrapped in one towel while Asami dried the boy's hair with another. When the boy started to wake Asami quickly but firmly wrapped an arm around the boy's upper body and across the boy's thighs. He trapped the boy's arms by wrapping one hand about both wrists in his lap before saying, "Stop thrashing about. You have enough bruises."

Akihito didn't believe he was scared of much but finding the voice from his most recent dream was real unfortunately appeared to be something. Instead of calming down Aki fought harder. Bucking and trashing so wildly that in his captor's attempt to prevent from harming him Akihito caused both of them to tumble into the still water filled tub. Aki succeeded in slipping from the man's hold as said gentleman pushed himself back up to a seated position from the bottom of the deep tub.

Oh my Kami he's huge! Akihito ran his eyes over the man in shock. The obviously expensive shirt clung to the man's body like a second skin. The dark pants outlined long muscled thighs and narrow hips. Akihito could see through the now near transparent white dress shirt to the lean but toned chest. His upper arms were bigger than Aki's thighs and his stomach muscles flexed as he sat up.

Those same muscles tapered down to the thick bulge Aki just knows he felt upon waking. Aki's thoughts scattered at the sight but, ok he did not just start getting hard looking at the man. Akihito shook his head, nope this wasn't happening. He closed his eyes; it was just another dream.

Asami watched the boy's face as he perused Asami's body. He'd never seen anyone with a more honest set of reactions. Terror, at awaking in an unfamiliar place, started the expressions which were then quickly followed by shock and disbelief. Those Asami had expected. He'd expected the boy's physical resistance should he awaken while being cleaned too. Though the boy's strength had been surprising; that was how they'd ended up in the tub after all.

What Asami had not expected was the blush that quickly crept up the boy's chest onto his face, nor the swift attempt to cover his lower body. What was most surprising though was the brief but intense sexual interest the boy had shown at the end of his perusal. That would need to be explored further.

First though Asami figured he should get the boy dry and fed. The boy seemingly couldn't make his mind up if he was frightened, angry, or interested. All three flitted randomly across his face. Asami definitely wanted the interest but figured he should start by easing the fear. Asami opened his mouth to speak but the boy beat him.

"Who the hell are you, you bastard?" the boy yelled as he pushed himself to his feet. It seemed anger had won.

"Asami Ryuichi," Asami replied standing as well. He, however, went ahead and stepped over the side of the tub to the plush bathmat. He kept the boy in sight but started peeling his wet clothing from his body.

Akihito went white at the name. He'd heard of Asami Ryuichi. Early on, one of the day jobs he'd done was actually night work. He spent many nights trying to capture criminals in the act on his old camera for a local precinct. He'd had to stop that work when they'd been kicked out of their first lodging. The new building superintendent had confiscated his old camera along with the rest of their belongings.

The investigative officer in the precinct, Yamazaki, had paid Akihito more than any manual day job ever had for just one good picture. However, the officer had always steered him away from any tip involving the man in front of him. He'd been told plenty though. Asami Ryuichi, businessman by day. Owner of several successful night clubs, hotels, and shopping centers as well as friends with many highly influential government officials.

Word among the cops however was that he was also a powerful force in Tokyo's underworld. He supposedly ran the largest most influential criminal group in the country. It was so powerful the local constables didn't even try to catch the man or his people. Yamazaki had once commented out loud how proper evidence of the man's nefarious acts would make his career, though.

Akihito had given it a try, spending nearly three weeks following upon tips called into the police about the man. However none of the tips panned out. When Aki was lucky they led to others he could snap pictures of and still get paid, usually however, the tips had just ended up sending Aki to parts of Tokyo worse than the old docks. All Akihito would get for the trouble was a new set of bruises.

Asami Ryuichi was not a man a sane person would cross; however, anger and embarrassment had driven off what little brain to mouth filter Aki had. "Where the hell am I? And what did you do with Kaida?"

Aki refused to look at the man as he stripped his pants and underwear down his thickly corded legs. At least he tried; instead he found his eyes following as trail of water ran down the man's side, rolled around his waist and delved into the dark space between his legs.

It wasn't Aki's fault that was where every male's penis was located. It also wasn't Aki's fault he found himself swallowing as he stared at the man's thickness. When it twitched though, Aki yanked his eyes to the man's face. Asami smirked as he said, "Like what you see?"

Embarrassment fueled Aki's anger, "Like hell I do!" He pushed at the man's chest in an effort to move him as Aki tried to climb out of the tub. Instead he found the man wrapping his arms about Akihito's own waist when Aki tripped on the edge. Aki struggled in Asami's grasp before glaring up at the man, "Let me go, you perverted bastard!"

Asami had never been so fascinated. He easily outweighed the boy by more than twenty kilograms and it was clear from the boy's thin frame he sported no real muscles. Yet, the boy physically fought him and yelled curses in his face. No one had ever called Asami a bastard until the wild boy in his arms. Not that, he probably didn't deserve the moniker. He was quite ruthless, heartless even, when called for. It was just that most people were too frightened to risk the potential backlash. Yet, this boy with his face and chest blushed red after blatantly eying Asami's naked body, didn't just call him one name but two while yelling.

The boy opened his mouth again. Rather than allowing him to bellow again Asami covered the boy's mouth with his own. The boy's breath swept into Asami's mouth. His lips were rough against Asami's tongue. The boy squeaked when Asami tilted his head to the side. The sound was followed by a moan as Asami swept his kiss past the boy's teeth and rubbed their tongues together.

Akihito had never been kissed. Oh, there was an attempt made by a girl in the grade school he'd attended after the Takabas had adopted him and Kaida. The girl had dropped her book bag in the stream they all had to cross to get to the school building and Aki had bravely, according to her, waded the water to rescue it. The girl had leaned up to his face with her ‘Arigatō' and pressed an open mouthed kiss to his lips. Akihito still remembered the ribbing his male classmates had given him when he'd told them it felt like a fish that had eaten miso soup was sucking on his face.

So Akihito had never felt he'd been kissed, until now. The only thing similar to the girl's kiss was the moisture. However, Asami's lips weren't cold, nor were they sloppy. Kami no, instead the man's tongue rubbed against Akihito's with gentle pressure. It then ran across the roof of his mouth and traced the back of his teeth. The girl's mouth had tasted like cold, over salted miso soup. Asami tasted of tobacco and sweet alcohol.

Even better the man's skin was warm even though wet; Aki moaned and presses closer. His thoughts tumbled bouncing between questions about how he found himself in a bathroom with Asami, memories of grade school, and just how deliciously warm and comfortable Asami felt against his cold skin. Asami moved one of the hands on his back up into Akihito's hair and started gently rubbing his scalp. Aki moaned again.

Reality crashed around him when someone kicked on the bathroom door before saying, "Asami-sama, the girl is asking for her brother."

The boy wrenched his lips from Asami's kiss. Asami, unsettled at his own reaction to the meeting of lips allowed the boy his freedom. They stood staring at each other breathing heavily for several seconds. When the boy opened his mouth Asami placed a finger on it saying, "We're coming out Kei. Give us few more seconds, I got water all over my suit and am drying off."

Aki hushed by the finger to his lips heard the other man respond with understanding before moving away from the door. He pulled away from the finger, "What do you think…" The finger was back cutting him off. He backed up a step and tried again, "What did you…" The finger was back again.

Akihito glared at the man before taking a larger step backwards. He nearly fell when the back of his legs bumped into the low cabinet sitting next to the tub. Asami caught him again though and gently maneuvered him backwards until he was sitting on the closed toilet. The man then handed him a warm towel, "Dry off, we'll talk afterwards."

Asami stepped away wrapping a towel about his hips. He opened the bathroom door before pointing to a pile of clothes next to the sink, "There are pajamas on the counter for you." Then he walked out leaving a very frustrated but confused Akihito alone.

Asami crossed the hallway, entered his own bedroom and closed the door. The larger closet containing his suits and tuxes was actually one room down, however he kept several sets of casual clothing in the drawers of his bedroom chest beside the sweats and shirts he typically lounged around the apartment in. He pulled on a pair of black pants and a grey t-shirt while trying to reconcile his reaction to the boy.

He didn't typically loose himself when interacting with others. The boy however tilted his normally studied and practice reactions. There had been no reason to kiss the boy. In truth there were several other responses that were probably exceedingly more appropriate to the name calling and anger than a kiss. However, the kiss was what happened.

Asami was honest with himself. He'd skirt the truth even outright lie if that was what was required to seal a deal or protect his people, but with himself he was brutally honest. He had kissed the boy because he wanted to.

No he had needed to. The need for the boy's lips to be under his had outweighed every other possible response to the situation. Once he'd started it another need rose. He wanted the boy under him, physically. From his first taste the only thought Asami had had was of the boy spread out on his bed's sheets writhing and panting from Asami's touches. And when the boy had moaned as he'd pressed himself against Asami's skin Asami had nearly pressed the boy down to the bathroom floor and taken him. Just thinking about what might have happened had Asami harder than any of his previous partners.

Asami willed his erection down. The boy was a child; he couldn't possibly be of age and had been forcibly turned. Asami had to take both him and the girl before the council. They would decide their fates. The boys' frightened face rose in Asami's mind quickly followed by the blown out, lust filled eyes the boy had shown just after their kiss.

Asami's fist slammed into the top of his chest of drawers; the boy was his. Since he could tell already the boy wouldn't stay anywhere the girl wasn't he set his mind on how to convince the council that both Radiants belonged with him.

While Asami worked out his course of action to keep the Radiants currently in his penthouse; they were huddled together on the small white, leather loveseat listening to Kirishima explain where they were.

"So, until the council decides what to do with you, you will stay here with Asami-sama." Kirishima was proud of the short informative speech and almost allowed himself to smile before asking, "Do you have any questions?"

The boy stood up pulling the girl with him and nearly ran to the door. Kirishima paused in shock and had to hold himself back from pulling the girl out of the boy's arms. The possessiveness he felt threw his normally reserved nature. Coveting anything was not just unusual but down right bizarre for him. Yet here he was fighting the instinct to pull the two apart and stand between them.

He'd been fighting the pull since he'd picked the girl up at the warehouse. She smelled strongly of plums, sweet and tart mixed with ginger. When he'd bathed her earlier he'd required all of his efforts not to kiss her. The several ungentlemanly thoughts he'd harbored had been driven from his head with a stiff drink and several recitations of the Sion Accounting books. Numbers always calmed him.

So he'd handled the boy pulling the girl into a hug and then down on the love seat to sit closely together with his usual aplomb. The girl had asked the first question. She had wanted to know who he was and where they were. So Kirishima told them. He introduced himself and gestured around them letting them know they were in Asami Ryuichi's home. They were safe here. Radiants would always be safe with the Asami family.

He'd gone on the let them know that they wouldn't be forced to bond with Asami and that they'd be taken to the Council who would ensure they were given to a Jō that would take care of them. Both were silent as he explained their situation. He had not expected the boy to attempt running. Luckily the door didn't open even from the inside for just any one. To get into the apartment a person's face and bio metrics had to be added to the security profiles. They also had to be there to get out.

Kirishima was just about to try and talk the boy down when Asami walked into the room. The man looked at the two standing in the genkan facing off with his second in command. The boy was squarely between Kei and the coughing girl and while his fists were not yet raised he could see the flight response that had obviously taken them to the front door replaced with fight. As the boy rose to the balls of his feet in preparation of throwing himself at Kei, Asami smirked, "At least eat the expensive take out I brought in for you before you leave."

The statement had the effect Asami was after. Confusion swept across the boy's face and the girl peeked out from behind him hope filling her eyes. She started forward only for the boy to press her backwards. His eyes hardened as he pointed to Kei asking, "What about this Radiant nonsense. This Council you plan on giving us to."

The boy rose to balls of his feet again before growling, "We're not property or children. We're old enough to choose for ourselves."

The flush girl behind him peeked out again instinctively supporting her brother choking on another cough as she rushed out, "He's right; we're not going back to the foundation."

Asami glanced at Kirishima asking, "What foundation?"

Kirishima shook his head, "I don't know sir. Though I did mention that there was interim housing they could be moved to while the council decided what family they would be bound to." He was worried about the girl she was clearly having difficulty breathing, however he could tell the boy wasn't about to let either of them near her at the moment.

"What is this bonding crap you keep spouting?!" The boy nearly launched himself at Kei. Only the girl's hand on his arm prevented it. His forward motion stalled by her tug. He glanced down at her, "Kaida, let me go and run."

The girl coughed as she shook her head and looked at Kei; Asami saw the curiosity in her eyes. She tugged on the boy's arm again, "Don't fight, please." She tried to take a deep breath before she looked back at the secretary. The action caused her to wheeze when she asked, "We don't even have any shoes, Aki. How far do you think we'll get?"

Asami smiled at her, "I'm pretty sure Kirishima had them send shoes as well. I'm serious about the food, though. You should at least eat and perhaps change out of those pajamas into street clothes before you leave." He turned then and walked through the door leading to the kitchen and dining room gesturing for Kei to follow. Kirishima saw his gesture and left the genkan after him.

Akihito was about to argue with his sister but his voice was interrupted by both of their growling stomachs. Kaida giggled before saying, "It smells really good, Aki." She looked at the tiled floor then before continuing with a whisper, "and when do you think we'll get another chance to actually eat until we're full?"

Aki still didn't want to stay, however Kaida's argument was valid and she clearly couldn't actually run anywhere with the way she was breathing. He relinquished with a sigh, "Fine, but we're leaving immediately after, street clothes or not." She nodded and started to go around him. Still not comfortable Akihito moved in front of her and entered the room first. He did not like the way that glasses guy looked at Kaida. It reminded him far too much of how Asami had looked at him in the bathroom just after their kiss.

That was the biggest reason he wanted out of the apartment. He'd seen that look before. It had been on the foundation's superintendent's face each time Aki had been called to the man's office. It was the look the shaggy man in the brothel had been giving him and it was a look he'd had to scramble away from numerous times whenever he encountered gangs on the street. He didn't understand what caused it but he knew it always led to him getting bruised or worse. He wasn't going to let anyone look at Kaida like that.

The kitchen and dining room were as impressive as the rest of the apartment he had so far seen. Both were large and equipped with the latest technology. The kitchen was state of the art behind bamboo wooden cabinets and the fridge Asami stood in front of as he removed a carton of orange juice was custom faced to match the cabinets. The counters were polished concrete dark grey with a lighter pattern of white water lilies embossed into them. The sink and stove were also custom made.

Beyond the kitchen counter with small bar was the dining room. The polished, white marble flooring of the kitchen extended into the dining area. A large teak table surrounded by eight teak chairs sat underneath a set of small hanging lights running in a straight line the length of the room. A large cabinet containing eating china and serving platters sat against the far wall. The table was set with a traditional Japanese breakfast for four.

Miso soup, grilled fish, and rice were the largest portions, but there were also small bowls of fruit and what Akihito determined were sweet potato crepes topped with honey and whipped cream. Both his and his sister's stomachs growled again. Asami turned from the fridge; the smirk was back on his face. Aki was starting to hate that look. He'd give almost anything to wipe if off.

Something of what he was thinking must have shown on his face; Asami chuckled and pointed to the table before saying, "Sheath your claws little kitten. We're just going to feed you."

"Don't call me that," Aki actually hissed the words. He was completely unaware of how much like a kitten he really did look to Asami at that moment. Not a tiny cat, but one of the fox kits that had played in Asami's garden when he'd been much younger than even the boy hissing at him now. Like those fox kits the boy was puffed up with arched back, claws out and teeth bared at the much larger predator in the space.

And like the fox kits, Asami knew he could take what he wanted from the boy; knew that he could easily crush the spirit that held the boy together. The spirit the boy used to protect not only himself but the girl behind him from the world. However, Asami had no desire to do that. No, he wanted the boy to surrender to him and to allow his self to be tamed; just like those fox kits in the garden.

To achieve that Asami had to let the boy think he was making the decisions. He responded with, "Well if you want me to call you something else, I guess you'll have to tell us your names."

That clearly caught the boy off guard and he hesitated before blushing and mumbling out, "Takaba. Takaba Akihito." He gestured to his companion, who he finally allowed out from behind him and said, "This is my sister Kaida."

Asami nodded to Kaida saying, "I am Asami Ryuichi; I introduced myself to your brother earlier." He pointed to Kei saying, "This is Kirishima Kei. He's my most trusted man, administrator, and friend. If you ever need anything he can get it."

The girl nodded and bowed, "Glad to meet you." She glanced at her brother and then quietly walked to the table and sat across from where Kirishima stood.

Akihito followed more slowly but did eventually sit across from Asami. He nodded when Asami offered the orange juice which Asami poured as he asked, "so where are the two of you from?"

The boy stilled in the act of picking up his chopsticks. Then his lips tightened before he replied, "Yokohama." He broke off a piece of the fish and paused again. The girl covered her mouth and turned her head to cough again and the boy slid the piece of fish to her plate before he continued with, "You'd have never heard of the place."

"Perhapse," Asami agreed, "but I know a lot of places."

The girl looked at him then, "You know about the Shinjuku Gyoen then?"

Kei spoke up then, "The park? Yes, it's within walking distance of here. Do you want to go there?"

The girl looked back at Kirishima and blushed before coughing again. She mumbled, "They don't check licenses there."

"Licenses? What types of license do you need in a park?" Kirishima inquired. He engaged directly with the girl and seemed to have forgotten that Asami and boy were at the table with them.

Asami wasn't really interested but he did enjoy watching the boy start to pout. It was clear he did not like the nearly animated conversation his sister was having with Kei. Yet the boy didn't fail to take advantage of his sister's distraction.

Akihito didn't drink the orange juice. Asami noticed he didn't really eat either. Instead the boy carefully maneuvered pieces of fish from his plate to his sister's and once when she was animatedly explaining to Kirishima about how you could earn money in the parks with dances and songs the boy expertly switched his full glace of juice for her nearly empty one.

The girl picked up the juice and took a swallow; she frowned and glanced at her brother. She looked like she was going to say something before clearly changing her mind and turning back to her plate. Her expressions were as honest as the boy's; irritation followed by worry and then fear. Her animated gestured stopped and she quickly finished her plates of food before crossing her arms and glaring at her brother.

The boy sighed and finally ate himself. Resignation covered his features. It was clear he had lost some sort of ongoing argument over food the two of them had. It did not escape Asami's notice however that the boy had succeeded in getting easily two thirds of his meal onto his sister's plate before she noticed. The boy's stomach growled again as he ate the last part of the food on his plates. Asami pushed his own over to the boy, "I'm done if you'd like the rest."

Aki hesitated. The food had been delicious and it wasn't like the man in front of him was starving. Aki shook his head; why couldn't he just eat and leave? He looked up at the man, why did Asami even care? It wasn't like Aki had anything he could give the man in return. He glared at the man who just smirked back. Damn the man; Aki pushed the offered plate away ignoring the hallow feeling the little bit of food had just made worse. "I'm not hungry anymore." His stomach disagreed loudly.

"I would think you'd want to keep your strength up." Asami stood picking up the plates.

The girl jumped up, "Oh, let us clean up." She took the dishes from Asami's hands, "It is the least we can do." She carried the dishes to the kitchen and started a sink of wash water. She turned back asking, "Where are your dish towels?"

Kirishima stood, "No, I couldn't possible ask you to do this, you are Asami-sama's guests." He carried his own dishes to the kitchen shaking his head. The girl turned to him and crossed her arms.

The boy smiled then; the first since they'd sat down. "You should just give up, Megane-san. Once Kaida crosses her arms she won't give up."

The girl looked at her brother smiling, "Which is why you'll be finishing that food then."

The boy frowned and turned back to the table, "Dang it Kaida, you're not supposed to gang up with others on me."

The girl crossed the room and grasped his shoulder whispering into his ear, "I know you always give me the lion's share Aki. Am I not allowed to worry about you, too?"

Neither Asami nor Kirishima had heard what the girl said but Akihito pulled the food back towards his self and started eating it. Asami took note that the boy hadn't even tried to fight his sister about eating the food. It made him wonder if the boy was only obstinate with him or just all non-family members in general.

The girl turned around and glared at Kirishima, who had just started washing dishes. "Don't think I don't see what you're doing either." She crossed her arms again and was headed back into the kitchen when she started coughing again. This time though, she couldn't stop. Hard wracking coughs exploded from her throat. They came so quickly one after another she stumbled to her knees clutching her chest.

Aki threw himself out of his chair, catching her just before her head made contact with the floor. Kirishima had also rushed to her side. The two of them had a short battle of wills about who would be picking the girl up when the apartment buzzer rang. Kirishima looked up towards the front door and caught Asami's signal to answer it.

Akihito having apparently won the short battle gathered his sister to his chest and tried to stand. He found he couldn't. Months of malnourishment had greatly reduced her weight, but vastly reduced his muscle strength. That didn't stop him from glaring with a sharp retort of, "Let her go, bastard!" when Asami knelt down and took Kaida from his arms though.

The man didn't rise with her; instead he captured Akihito's eyes and said, "Figured you'd want to move her to the couch. I am only helping."

It irked Aki; he was supposed to be able to take care of them. He was older; the head of their household. He wasn't going to let the man in front of him take over. He tugged on his sister's body shaking his head.

Asami would have usually no problem with kneeling on the floor until the boy made up his mind. However Kirishima was hovering in the kitchen doorway and from the look on the man's face either Asami got the girl off the floor or Kei was going to do it. So Asami took the decision out of Akihito's hands by standing. The boy didn't let go however and found himself pulled up right along with his sister.

Aki's eyes went wide at the man's strength; surely he and Kaida weren't that small? He had to let go and quickly move ahead of Asami as the man carried Kaida and pushed Akihito into the living room. He laid Kaida down on the long couch and then pushed Aki into sitting next to her. Then the man nodded to someone else in the room.

Aki looked around and found a middle aged man, wearing a dark suit with a red tie, standing in the genkan. He carried a large brown leather bag in his right hand and over his right arm was a long white garment. He nodded back at Asami and moved into the living room before bowing and introducing himself, "I am Riki, the Asami family physician, pleased to meet you." He didn't wait for Aki to respond before setting the bag down and slipping on what Aki now saw was a lab coat.

His reaction was instinctual. He didn't know how his iatrophobia had developed, but his fear of doctors went far beyond just medical practitioners. The terror was triggered every time he was near anyone wearing a white lab coat. Whenever he was able to look back on the events he was ashamed. The people were only ever trying to help or just do their jobs. However that never entered Akihito's brain at the time.

Aki let out a low moan and started shivering as if he was standing in the freezing cold with no clothes on. His body shakes were so strong they jerked him off the couch. Asami frowned in concern but was totally shocked when the boy curled up defensively and started begging through a sudden river of tears. The boy hadn't even noticed he'd slammed his left shoulder into the sharp corner of the coffee table.

Riki- hakase stood with his arms out stretched and palms up. He backed away slowly saying, "I'm not here to hurt you. See I'm not even touching you."

Asami shoved the low table out of his way and picked the boy up from the floor. It worried him that Akihito didn't even fight the action. The boy's only response was to beg louder that they stop. He'd be good if they'd just stop.

Asami sat in the overstuffed arm chair near the long couch and started rubbing the boy's back, "Sush, its ok Kitten. You're safe. I promise."

The girl on the couch started moaning. Her eyes flickered rapidly behind her eyelids and her arms flung out with a scream, "STOP HURTING AKI!"

Kirishima was on the couch almost instantly; he gathered the thrashing girl to his chest, trapped her arms and started repeating almost the same assurances Asami gave the boy into her hair.

None of the men were certain just how long they stood or sat in the living room repeating the same actions and words to the two distraught teens. However, eventually both stopped whimpering or moaning and settled against the chest that held them.

Asami felt when the tension left Akihito's body. Suddenly the boy was loose limbed and nearly a dead weight. Asami tilted his face up and found the boy had passed out. He looked up at Kei to find the girl in the same state.

Riki was bowing again, "I am sorry Asami-sama had I been warned the boy was iatrophobic I would not have put on the coat."

Asami shook his head, "I didn't know to warn you. Iatrophobia, I assume, is a phobia of doctors?"

The man nodded and moved to kneel next to the girl in Kirishima's arms. He gently pulled her wrist forward and took her pulse as he answered, "Yes, though this is one of the most extreme reactions I've ever seen." He looked pointedly at the girl before continuing, "and her reaction was more like a shared nightmare than a phobia." He pulled a tablet from his back and started typing, "Who are these children?"

Asami didn't answer right away. Riki had served as his personal physician for over thirty years. He'd been turned after he'd refused to leave Asami and Suoh when trapped in a bunker in Romania. The man was of German decent and had been one of the people Asami's group was supposed to rescue when they raided the old castle. He was also a Wind, his people still didn't know why human Winds were so often medical personnel.

No, Asami's hesitation wasn't because he couldn't trust the man. After all he refused to turn anyone he wasn't positive he could trust implicitly and while he'd had many Mizus and Chikyūs join his cause after being turned; Riki wasn't one of them. It was something personal about the boy. He found he didn't want to share even with someone he trusted.

He took a deep breath; he'd have to explore reasons later. Riki needed to know if he was going to treat them anyway. "They are Radiants, we found them hiding in one of the old port warehouses."

The doctors looked up from his examination in shock, "Who turned them?" He gentled his already soft touch on the girl, "I can't believe anyone in Tokyo would defy you to turn someone so young."

"We don't know. We only got their names over breakfast." He looked down at the boy. "I need you to examine them completely. They're both covered in scrapes and bruises." Asami looked back up at the doctor, "We need to know if there anything worse."

Riki nodded, "I suggest we sedate them. Parts of the examination will be," he paused looking at both of the teens before continuing, "uncomfortable."

Asami nodded and stood with the boy saying, "Kei let's move them back to the bedroom. It will make Riki's job easier."

Kirishima nodded and carefully rose with his charge. Both teens gripped the shirts of the men carrying them when they went to move away from their sleeping forms. Riki chuckled as both Asami and Kirishima paused in shock, "No need to go far. I can examine them with you in the room."

Asami nodded and both he and Kei sat at the head of the futon helping the doctor to disrobe the teens and held them when even the sedative didn't prevent them from reacting. At one point Asami nearly decked his doctor. The man was, in his opinion, exceedingly thorough. It nearly two hours before he completed and at the end he still drew three vials of blood from each of the teens.

He left the room then and Asami and Kirishima spent several minutes ensure the two teens were comfortable and tucked under the clean blankets. They then joined the doctor in the living room. The man was just finishing notes on this tablet and looked up from the task as he entered. He paused taking a long look at both of them before starting.

"The girl first, there is a lot of fluid in her lungs. The coughing during her examination leads me to believe it has been a problem for a while. She also has a high fever and from how pale she is underneath she's probably been fighting it for several days. I've ordered several prescriptions for her though if she's not better in a few days I believe it would be best to hospitalize her."

He looked down at his pad, "Until the blood work is completed later today I won't know if there is anything else we need to worry about. The scrapes and bruises look to be self-inflected, probably from running and tripping over things. I don't see any signs of current ongoing abuse even sexual, but there were several old scars." He turned the tablet in his hands and ran a finger along the girl's image just above her buttocks. "Several thin lines crisscross this area; there are fewer but still visible ones higher on her back and down the back of her thighs as well. These could be only a few months old, but based off the rest of her skin I believe they are probably much older."

Asami felt Kirishima tense next to him. He nodded at the doctor's obvious pause before asking, "And the boy?"

"Hum," Riki looked uncomfortable, "He's running a fever himself. Lower than the girl's but it's probably also gone on for several days. I've ordered something him as well." He tapped his tablet again and turned the device back to Asami, "he's covered in old wounds as well, but these are new." The tablet showed Asami the dark bruises around Aki's wrists and upper arms. The doctor also pointed to a large darkening spot on the boy's stomach. "These are the most recent and were definitely not self-inflected. You can see the finger impressions."

Asami grew grim before asking, "What about?"

Riki interrupted the question, "he's been sexual active, yes. From the examination I can't tell though it if was consensual or not. There are healing tears and bruising, but it was long enough ago that it could have just been an overly aggressive partner." The man turned the tablet back to check his notes before saying, "It is something you're going to have to ask him."

Riki put the tablet up at that point, "They need rest, medication and food. They are both extremely malnourished and dehydrated. If they were anyone else, I'd insist you allow me to hospitalize them." He stood, "There are several supplements in the prescriptions I've ordered. They will need to take them at every meal and you need to force liquids."

Kirishima stood with a nod and escorted the doctor out of the penthouse. He paused in the door of the living room when he returned. Asami was at the liquor cabinet pouring two drinks. Kei moved to the long couch and sat. Asami handed him one of the bourbons before settling into the overstuffed single seat.

The two men drank in silence for several minutes before Kirishima spoke, "Thank you for convincing the boy to stay long enough for them to be examined."

"I don't think that was me," He swallowed the last of his drink before standing and returning to the bourbon, "I think the girl's stomach played the biggest roll in that."

Kei laughed then caught himself; that wasn't something he normally did. He swallowed thickly before saying, "I'm drawn to her." He twisted the glass in his hands, "I've never had thoughts like these."

The bourbon bottle was lowered to the table; Asami nudged it towards his friend, "Yeah, well neither of us do emotions." He waited until Kei was looking at him, "So how do we convince the council to let us keep them?"

Kirishima shook his head, "The harder battle is keeping them here until they can be presented."

"True," Asami nodded, "Though I believe that the girl will help with that. Akihito is very reluctant to allow anything to harm her." He sat again, "I suggest we use that to our advantage."

Kei smiled, "I have no problem with that and likely that will stall him for several days; what do we do once she's better?"

"I'm still thinking about that," Asami looked at the hallway to the guest door, "but he's not escaping me now."


	3. Choices or Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may undergo a revision. while I got the words out I'm not particularly happy with the last fifth of the chapter. However, I intend to try and get some sort of update out every Saturday or Sunday. Should I do a revision I'll drop a notice in the Chapter Summary.
> 
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.  
> \-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was dreaming again. Akihito hated it. He couldn't shake it; the dream sequences played out over and over. Then in the middle of one, right before the man pushed him down the dream crashed around him. Suddenly instead of the rape he was held securely in someone's lap. The man was rubbing his back and whispering into his hair. It took several moments before Aki understood the words or recognized the baritone voice.  
  
A very small part of Akihito's brain scrambled to fight the hold the man had on him. However a larger part chose to ignore it and leaned into the man's chest. Aki would never admit, when awake, that he actual craved the physical warmth of the man's arms nor the safety his presence made Aki feel. Surely here in his dreams it was ok to lean on someone else. He moved his hand to the man's chest and rested it against the man's heart. The man tried to move away and Aki grasped the soft fabric under his hand before begging, "Please, don't leave."  
  
Dream Asami chuckled deeply, "I won't Kitten. You're here to stay." Aki's sleep returned to darkness as his dream version of Asami pulled him closer.  
  
Asami chuckled again; the boy wasn't even awake enough to know what he was doing. He and Kei had rushed into the guest room when the girl screamed. They found both teens thrashing on the bed and quickly pulled their respective possessions into their arms. After several minutes the two calmed down and Asami invited Kei to stay and get his own rest.  
  
To facilitate that, he'd picked the boy up and carried him to his room. Asami had no concerns about Kirishima sharing the girl's bed. He was well aware the man would shoot himself before taking advantage of the situation. Asami tucked the now fully sleeping boy into his own king sized futon and smiled before stripping out of his sweats and t-shirt.  
  
Asami had no qualms about taking advantage. If he had his way the boy would quickly learn he'd never be able to sleep without Asami's presence again. The boy shivered causing Asami to slip between the sheets and pull the boy half way onto his chest. The boy's temp was still too high and he shivered again. Even so the boy shifted about until his head was resting on the right side of Asami's chest and his right hand lay directly over Asami's heart.  
  
Asami carded his fingers through the silvery blonde hair as he stared at the ceiling. The boy was prickly and once his sister no longer needed medical care Asami was certain the boy would do his best to escape the penthouse and never encounter them again. It was clear from the few questions at the genkan, the two did not recognize what Radiants were, nor did they know that they were two of the rarest people on the planet.  
  
It was also clear that the boy, at least, would not take well to the social strictures Asami's people had developed and adhered to for the past several hundred centuries. Akihito barely recognized Asami as someone he should respect under Japan's social norms. He would never recognize Asami's dominance of his life, if they were bonded. He fell asleep trying to think up a way past the boy's defensive nature.  
  
Asami woke later to a restless Akihito. The youngster shifted moving a leg across Asami's thighs while also attempting to burrow under his left side. Asami stroked the boy's back again and pressed his lips to the boy's forehead. Akihito's skin was scorching to the touch.  
  
He got out of the bed, chuckling to himself when Akihito whined in his restless sleep. Asami tucked the covers around the boy murmuring, "Shush, I'll be back shortly." Aki settled at his touch and once still Asami left the room and entered the bathroom down the hallway. He found Kei had set out two small basins and a couple of hand cloths. One set had clearly been used recently being upside down with the cloth spread across the bottom and damp to the touch.  
  
Asami ran water into the second bowl and carried it and the other cloth back into his room. In the short time he was gone the boy had somehow tossed about enough to knock the thick coverlet from the bed. He now shivered as the air moved across his exposed skin. Asami shook his head and set the items on the bedside table. He picked up the comforter from the floor after fixing the tossed about bed sheet. He covered the boy's lower body and sat next to him. He took the cloth and wet it before wringing it out and gently rubbing the boy down. He watched as the cloth rubbed across the boy's chest leaving a swath of barely glistening skin.  
  
Asami slowly ran the cloth across his boy following behind it first with his bare hand then with his lips. He measured the boy's temp and only stopped wiping the boy down once the skin under his touch no longer burned. Akihito's fever was under control even if getting there had pushed his own. Asami stripped out of his pants and boxers; at this point he didn't even think about the reaction the boy might have to waking next to a naked Asami. He climb back under the sheets and pulled the cause of his straining erection back against his side.  
  
Akihito burrowed closer and once again shifted until his head rested on Asami's chest with one hand over the man's heart. Asami chuckled again before whispering to the dark room, "You're much more trusting asleep kitten." He ran his hands through the boy's hair and down his back causing him to release a breathy sigh and relax even further. Asami smiled as the boy settled into a true dead weight upon his chest. Then he closed his own eyes and drifted back to sleep.  
  
Akihito woke to two distinct, unusual sensations. The first was the strange dichotomy of being both comfortably warm and awkwardly cold. The second was the sound of Kaida's laughter.  
  
The cold air blowing across his exposed skin was easily thwarted by pulling his arm back under the thick coverlet covering the rest of his body. His brain, still mostly asleep, kept insisting the fact he was warm and laying on what had to be a futon made of cloud was decidedly unusual and possibly dangerous. However, Kaida's laughter had been absent for so long that Aki found he didn't want to open his eyes, fearing it was actually a dream.  
  
The silence around him stretched and Akihito decided he really had dreamed the laughter. Kaida laughed again. Takaba-san had always described Kaida's laugh as bells. It did sound like small versions of the Christian church bells that had rung every Sunday in the small community where their apartment had been located. Tears leaked from Akihito's closed lids; it had been so long since he'd heard those bells. It felt even longer since he'd heard Kaida's laughter.  
  
He pulled the coverlet up across his nose while turning to bury his face into the bed's pillow; he left his ears uncovered. He rubbed at the few tears that had escaped and were trying to make tracks down his cheeks. He waited again, but only once he heard the sound again did he realize he'd been holding his breath. Then she coughed. The noise was painful to Aki's hearing. Kaida needed a doctor; she needed medication, or hell, even just regular meals.  
  
It was that thought that pulled Aki's brain into full working order. He pushed the coverlet off and sat up. The room around him was new. It was certainly not the old warehouse and the air about him though cooler than he wished was by no means cold. He still shivered and seeing as how he was shirtless he pulled the coverlet back around his chest. The bedroom was lit by sunlight filtering through the gaps between thick cream curtains. They hung from ceiling to floor over tall windows through which Aki could see the tops of tall, steel and glass buildings.  
  
The walls were blue grey trimmed in a darker cream along their bases and tops. In the wall across from the tall windows were two doors of darkly stained wood. The futon he sat on was raised off the floor like European beds. It was also larger than even the king sized version the Takaba's had slept in. Its wooden base and the small bedside table near it were both stained to match the doors and the coverlet was nearly the same cream as the curtains. The sheets underneath the coverlet were dark blue grey. Had there been any tacky art upon the bare walls Aki would have though he was in a hotel room.  
  
Aki couldn't remember arriving anywhere that looked like this. He heard Kaida laugh again; it was immediately followed by a cough. A baritone voice said something then, though Akihito could not understand what was voiced. He did hear Kaida respond. Aki looked around the plain room again. His brain kept telling him he should be more panicked, that the room and Kaida's laughter were wrong. However, he couldn't seem to muster the energy to do so.  
  
Asami, pushed open his bedroom door and entered the room with the tray of food, drink, and medication. He was slightly surprised to see Akihito sitting up wrapped in the coverlet. The sight of the boy's sleep tossed hair and slightly confused face went straight to his groin. Asami forced himself to breath slowly and shallowly. The scent of peaches had only grown stronger as the boy had gotten better over the past few days and the nearly constant erection Asami sported because of it was now normal.  
  
One of the doors opened silently and Akihito's head and heart went into overdrive. His breathing increased until he was actually panting and jumbles of confusing images tumbled about his brain. The memory of him and Kaida eating a lone red orange in the warehouse was followed by the consumption of a traditional Japanese breakfast at a table across from some man in glasses and Asami Ryuichi. There was one of Kaida falling to a marble floor jumbled with the sensation of warmth and clean linen against his own skin. The last coherent thought was of a white lab coat.  
  
Asami had paused in the doorway. Akihito had not been fully awake or aware in nearly five days. It was clear from his expressions that he did not remember how he came to be in Asami's bed. Perhaps did not even know whose bed it was. The curiosity running across his face was quickly replaced with fear and then anger, though. Akihito exploded off the bed, tossing the coverlet to the other side of the bed and throwing out his hands as if to ward Asami off. He yelled as he came to his feet, "What the fuck did you do to me?"  
  
Asami carefully walked the tray around the boy who turned to keep Asami in his line of sight and at arm's length. Asami fought to urge to reach out and pull the boy to his chest. Akihito was clearly having difficulty staying on his feet and wavered unsteadily. Asami sat the tray upon the small table and gestured to it before saying, "I've brought you your medication and something to eat."  
  
He looked at the boy directly before saying, "You should get back in bed or at least sit down before you fall over. Your fever only really came down early this morning."  
  
Akihito fought off the shiver that traveled over his skin. He was pretty certain it wasn't because of fever. The blush he felt creeping up his neck however was absolutely due to being sick. Aki swore to himself it had nothing to do with the dark colored linen covering the broad expanse of Asami's shoulders nor the invading scent of tobacco and cloves mixing with the air. Nope, he wasn't blushing or fighting an unwelcome erection. He stepped backwards, attempting to put more distance between him and Asami. The movement however put all his weight on one foot and he found himself tipping towards the floor.  
  
It took most of Asami's will power not to scoop the boy off his feet and deposit him back on the bed. He was swaying with the effort of just standing and Asami knew that he had to be physically weak since he'd spent the last five days mostly asleep on a nearly liquid diet. When Akihito went to move backwards though his control snapped. The boy shifted his weight to one foot and clearly didn't have enough strength to maintain any balance.  
  
Aki felt himself falling, but instead of hitting the rug lined marble floor strong arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Before he could do more than squeak in protest though, Asami had picked him up and deposited him back on the large bed. He glared up at the larger man, "Bastard, stop grabbing me."  
  
Asami closed his eyes and counted to ten opened them and then repeated. The boy was clearly incapable of taking care of himself. He'd not even gotten over being ill and he was already trying to run around without enough clothing and certainly without the strength to be out of bed. Asami choose to ignore the fact that Akihito clearly didn't realize he'd spent the last five days fighting a serious infection. Nor did the boy know Asami had spent the same number of days taking care of him.  
  
Asami felt fully justified in pushing Aki back down on the bed and covering him with the coverlet before pulling him to sit up against the headboard and placing the tray across the boy's lap. "Eat so you can take your medication."  
  
Aki was about to snap at the man for man-handling him again when his stomach growled. The sound was abnormally normal amid the strangeness of the situation. It cleared his mind of his turbulent thoughts. He looked down and the smell of eggs reached his nose. His stomach growled again; he blushed, picked up the chop sticks, and whispered, "Arigatō", before raising one of the rolled eggs to his mouth.  
  
While he ate Asami sat down on the bed next to his legs. In the beginning the man merely rested a large hand on Aki's upper thigh. As he consumed the plate of food however Asami soon started running that hand up and down Aki's leg from hip to knee and back again. Silence beyond the sounds of Aki eating settled into the room. Akihito refused to ponder how comfortable the quite was or how warm and pleasant Asami's large hand felt.  
  
The food was warm and Aki found he'd eaten all of it before he really thought about it. Akihito set the chopsticks down and reached for the glass of milk. Asami spoke again, "Take the medication too." He gestured to the sauce plate piled with various pills.  
  
Akihito paused. He'd not even thought about the fact the man could have drugged the food. Given what the police had shared with him Aki wouldn't put it past the man. He glanced up at the man and found his gaze captured. Asami frowned at him and growled, "Take the medicine, Akihito. If I had wanted to harm you I've had five days to do so. You weren't in any condition to even argue."  
  
Aki was deliberating if he should take the medication when he heard his sister laugh again. He recognized the voice that followed the sound. ‘Glasses' was fussing and Kaida clearly found the man funny. He glanced at the open doorway unaware of warring the joy and concern flitting across his face. He heard Asami sigh and glanced back at him. The man smirked at him, "Take your medication and I'll help you to the living room. Your sister is currently watching some anime on the halo-vid."  
  
Kaida laughed again and Aki glanced out of the door whispering, "Totoro and Friends." He scooped up the pills and swallowed them with the rest of the milk before pushing at the tray. He didn't look at Asami when the man took the tray from his lap and set it back on the small table.  
  
Akihito tossed the covers aside and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. The fear driven adrenaline from earlier had passed and Akihito found himself panting with the small effort of moving to the bed's side. A dark sweatshirt landed on his head followed by Asami's baritone. "Put this on. Even with the heat turned up your sister and you are still going to be prone to chills."  
  
Aki glared at the man in protest but pulled the shirt over his head. It was too large. In fact it was large enough for Asami to wear meaning it nearly swamped Akihito. The collar fell off one of his shoulders and even though he pushed the cuffs of the sleeves past his elbows they folded over to nearly reach his wrists. Worse was the fact it smelled like the man. It was warm and the smell of cloves and tobacco, scents Akihito was quickly figuring out belonged to Asami's own personal aroma, surrounded him.  
  
He just held back the sigh trying to escape. Instead he glared down at the man putting thick socks on his feet, "I don't want to wear your clothes. I have my own."  
  
Asami glanced up from the foot he was holding. It was far too small without near enough muscle or fat between the skin and bones. The boy wasn't much shorter than he was, probably no more than ten or so centimeters. However, the lack of muscle and fat he should be carrying made him seem much smaller. According to the girl in the living room Akihito always gave the larger portion of meals to her. The act of secretly pushing his own food onto her as he'd done the first morning was not new.  
  
Clearly the boy thought more about his sister than himself. So Asami would just have to do it for him. He smirked at the reaction the boy would probably give him for doing so. "If you're talking about the rags you were wearing, I had Kirishima toss them in the burnable garbage."  
  
As predicted the boy puffed up with anger, "What!? They were perfectly fine clothes. There were several more months of wear in them." He pulled his sock clad foot from Asami's hands and tried to stand. He landed back on the bed when he jerked out of the hands Asami had wrapped about his upper arm and waist. "I can stand on my own."  
  
"You can?" The disbelief in Asami's voice spurred Aki's anger and he used the brief adrenaline surge to push himself to his feet. Upon reaching his feet the small amount of strength fled, but his forward momentum didn't. Aki found himself falling again. He brought his hands up to stop his face from crashing into the floor only to find his hands and face pressed against the dark linen of Asami's shirt. He shivered at the warmth and unconsciously cuddled closer to the chest.  
  
Asami wrapped an arm about his waist and cupped the back of his head with the other. He glared down at the silvery head and said, "I see, you can indeed stand on your own." He scooped the boy into his arms carrying him princess style out the door and down the hall.  
  
Akihito pushed at Asami's chest with both hands, "Bastard, I can walk." The struggle to get free was short and futile. About the time Asami seemed to notice that Aki was trying to push out of his arms they had arrived next to the long, cream, living room couch. Asami deposited him gently on a thick cushion next to where his sister's feet lay.  
  
The halo-vid on the other side of the low, dark stained, teak coffee table projected the 3d program Akihito had named in the bedroom. Totoro, his small fury companions, a host of soot sprites, and a small boy were marching around a small plot of dirt.  
  
The anime was indeed the popular revival of "My Neighbor Totoro". The non-human characters having been pulled from the centuries old film to find new life as weekly personas in the halo-vid "Totoro and Friends". Akihito didn't know what Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli saw as the characters' futures when the film was originally produced, but he was very glad they had allowed the concept to go from idea to feature. Totoro had been Kaida's favorite anime character since Takaba-san had shown her the old film on their ninth birthday.  
  
Asami's glasses wearing secretary started to speak only to have Kaida shush him, "Quite, Totoro is going to make the sunflowers sprout." Kaida was enraptured by the vid. She didn't even notice that Akihito had joined her on the couch.  
  
Aki nearly laughed at the affronted look Megane-san gave Kaida, but he knew better than to make any noise while Totoro was busy making the plants grow. He still didn't know what it was about those scenes that enchanted his sister; he did know not to interrupt while the character was working. Few things brought about Kaida's wrath, but disturbing her while watching Totoro was one of them.  
  
Sure enough just as the characters did every single week with some bush, flower, or tree the sun flowers sprouted, grew, and bloomed in the show's twilight. Kaida laughed again when the show took a commercial break and turned her head towards the movement at Aki's end of the couch. In a burst of sound, arms, legs, and what Aki realized now was a throw blanket, his sister came off her end of the couch and threw herself into his lap, "Aki! You're awake!" Tears rose in her eyes as she looked at him, "I was so worried! You wouldn't even wake up for strawberry Pocky!"  
  
He closed his arms about her and smiled, "Yeah, well I'm awake now." He released her from the hug and pushed her back enough so he could look her over. She was pale, but the dark circles under her eyes had brightened considerably. Her once chapped lips looked to be covered in some sort of cream and she was wearing thick flannel pajamas under a large dark green sweatshirt.  
  
She closed her eyes coughing and Aki ran his hands up and down her back while she caught her breath. When she opened them again he looked at her in worry before asking, "How's your chest?"  
  
"A lot better! Kei has been ensuring I take all the medication and feeding me the most wonderful soup!" She turned and beamed a smile at the secretary.  
  
The man had the courtesy to cough in embarrassment at the praise before saying, "It has been my pleasure Kaida-san. It is a joy to see both you and your brother in better health." He gave Akihito a small bow, "I hope to see both of you up and about soon." He then picked up two empty tea cups from the table and carried them through the door to the kitchen.  
  
Akihito scowled at the man from the moment Kaida had used his first name with no honorific until the kitchen door closed behind him. He turned the glare on Asami when he heard the man chuckle before turning back to his sister and chastising her, "You shouldn't call Kirishima-san so familiarly, it is impolite. Besides we won't be here long enough to make friends." He glared back at Asami with that statement.  
  
She frowned at him, "Kie said it was ok with him and you know I prefer people using my first name." She climbed out of his lap and sat on the couch next to him. "I don't know why you're so grumpy with them. They've been nothing but nice."  
  
Akihito shook his head in response, "You don't know anything about them, Kaida. We can't trust them. Yamazaki-san always warned me away from him." He glared back at Asami once again who only chuckled in response.  
  
The man lowered himself into the single person seat at the end of the couch before saying, "If you were trying to take pictures of me then I'm glad you were warned away. I like my privacy and don't take well to people prying."  
  
Akihito nearly retorted that no Yakuza liked being photographed, but Asami cut him off before he got started, "I do not have any intention of letting the two of you wonder the streets any longer either. You're not leaving here until Riki-hakase says you are well enough to be out." He captured Akihito's eyes again before continuing, "I won't have you living on the streets. Once you've been presented to the council I'll make whatever arrangements they deem best for you."  
  
Aki pushed himself to his feet and even thought he had to use the arm of the couch to remain steady; he still yelled while jabbing a finger at Asami's smirk, "Like hell we're staying here. We're adults and can leave when we want to."  
  
Asami broke into a grin. It was an unusual shape for his mouth. He found it pleasantly strange. "Kitten, you aren't going anywhere until I say you can." He watched in delight as Akihito's glare tinged pink at the nickname. He pointed at the door, "The lock on that door works both ways. No one I haven't authorized gets in and you can't get out unless I or one of my men is escorting you." He stood then, "Now, I have several questions I hope you can answer them now that you're awake." He started to suggest they move into his office, if only so they didn't disturb Kaida's show.  
  
Akihito interrupted the attempt by softly growling, "I'm not answering anything!" In his anger, Aki let go of the couch arm and thrust a finger towards Asami. "I told you we're not children! You can't just take over our lives!"  
  
In Akihito's mind everything that happened next moved in slow motion. He pitched forward as his legs gave out from under him. Kaida yelped and reached for him but couldn't even keep the back of his shirt held. His body weight, what little there was, exceeded her strength. Aki saw Asami's smirk return and part of his brain informed him that this time the man wouldn't catch him. Worse he deserved the fall. He started bringing his arms up to prevent face planting into the marble floor.  
  
Asami wrapped his large hand about Akihito's wrist. He tugged Akihito further forward while spinning the boy's body about. This caused the fall to end with Akihito's back mostly leaning against Asami's chest. Asami used the remaining momentum to pull Aki on to his lap as he once again sat in the single seat. The man's arms then wrapped about Akihito's middle and pulled the boy fully against his chest.  
  
Akihito's brain nearly shorted out. By rights the man should have just let Aki fall to the floor. It would have served as the perfect example of why he and Kaida shouldn't even think about trying to leave yet. It was also justified considering that Aki had thus far only been extremely rude to Asami.  
  
However, the man had not even hesitated to reach out and ensure Akihito was safe. Aki honestly couldn't remember the last time someone else had done that. Worse, once Aki's brain caught up with the fact he hadn't landed painfully on the white marble, he was forced to try and comprehend that the man was running his hands over him in clear concern. Aki almost didn't understand Asami's question about being alright and asking if anything hurt.  
  
It was Kaida's voice that broke through the confusing fog assaulting Akihito's thoughts, "AKI! Are you ok?"  
  
He nodded, "Yes, yes, I'm fine." He turned and looked at Asami blushing as he stammered, "um, thank you... for catching me." He squirmed in Asami's lap in an effort to stand back up. Asami wrapped an arm about his legs and shifted him until he was more securely on the man's lap. It was clear when Asami left one arm laying heavily on Akihito's thighs while the other rested around his waist that not only did Asami not mind the boy in his lap he intended to keep him there for a while.  
  
Aki's blush deepened. He tried squirming again and felt Asami's arms tighten. He glared at the man before whisperinging, "Let me up. There are plenty of other seats."  
  
"True, unlike your sister, though, it is clear that you don't know how to sit or lay still. Have you have always had issues with allowing others to take care of you?" He ran the hand around Akihito's waist up the boy's back until it gripped the back of the boy's head. "I didn't bring Riki-hakasa here to treat you just for you to hurt yourself again being careless." He pulled Aki's face down until their forehead's touched, "Under my people's laws you are my responsibility and not even you are going to prevent me from fulfilling my duties. I take care of my things."  
  
Aki stiffened and tried to escape while hissing, "We're not things!" He glanced at his sister. She was once again engrossed in the halo-vid believing that since Aki had said he was fine he was. Besides she apparently trusted Asami and that Megane-san. He turned back to see Asami smirk again. "Stop smirking!" He whispered with a hiss.  
  
"I can't help it, Kitten. You're just too cute all puffed up and angry about someone else caring." Asami hid his actual concern behind the smirk the boy perpetually placed on his face. He really did find Akihito nearly too cute for words. Either asleep or awake the boy continued to remind him of a small wild fox kit. The young man was nearly paranoid about trusting others.  
  
It worried Asami. Converted Humans were never as sturdy as his people. Some Winds, Waters, Earths, and Airs were unable to find a Jō to bond with. These converted humans often lost control of their powers and caused harm to themselves and others. Radiants were particularly fragile. Even had the horrors required to create a Radiant not been enough to require they outlaw the practice, the consequences faced by Radiants that couldn't successfully bond to a Jō would.  
  
Non bonded Radiants that used their powers regularly would quickly lose control; often because they'd overload by sucking in blocks of nearby light until it all came bursting from the Radiants in showers of varicolored sparks. There were even documented cases of Radiants losing control and causing metropolitan sized blacked outs. The typical result of the event left the Radiants with permanent brain damage. Often those Radiants lived out their lives as perpetual children while still physically aging as slowly as the rest of his people. He didn't want that for this boy or his sister.  
  
As for the harshest consequence; he wouldn't let that happen. A Radiant scattering was the most horrible event he'd ever had to witness. It didn't matter if it was a slow loss from months of over using their power without a Jō to hold them together or the quick burst apart by a Radiant that pulled in too much to hold onto themselves. The Radiant would eventually lose not just their mind but their physical selves as they split into the very atoms they controlled. A scattering only ever ended in death.  
  
Asami unconsciously pulled Akihito closer thinking; no, he'd cage his kitten and the boy's sister long before he'd allow that to happen. The results of allowing them to wonder Tokyo alone wouldn't be tolerated. He tucked Aki's head under his chin and whispered into his hair, "You're just going to have to learn to trust me, Kitten."  
  
Akihito didn't know what was running through Asami's mind. However the man had pulled him even closer than Aki thought he could. He'd tucked Aki's head under his chin and ran a soothing hand up and down his back before whispering words he couldn't understand into his hair. The irritation that had chased away his blush scattered and the blush was climbing his skin again.  
  
He was working his thoughts towards anger again when the penthouse door buzzed. The sound was immediately followed by the entrance of the largest man Akihito had ever seen. He actually had to duck to get through the doorway. He had to be the size of a standing bear with shoulders just as wide. He was all muscle. His nearly impassive face was crowned with yellow blonde locks shorn in a military hair style. He was dressed in a black suit, under which he wore a bright, white, dress shirt with a thin black tie.  
  
The man carried several cloth shopping bags. From at least one the leafy tops of carrots and the dark purple of an eggplant stuck out. Kirishima stepped out of the kitchen when the buzzer rang and greeted the muscle man. "Kazumi, dōmo arigatō, picking up the groceries really helps. Are you staying for supper?"  
  
The mountain of muscle looked at Asami. Akihito didn't miss the once over the man gave him. He gritted his teeth together. Take it up with your boss if you don't like me in his lap, meat head. I didn't ask to be here. He tried struggling free again only to have Asami's steely arms tighten once more. Akihito glared up at him.  
  
Asami nodded at the man who turned to back to Glasses saying, "Sure, need help in the kitchen?"  
  
He paused before following Kirishima beyond the kitchen door and fetched a pink box from one of the bags. He hung it in front of Kaida's face; she didn't see it for several seconds. "Pocky!" Kaida squealed. She grabbed the box and turned on the couch until she was on her knees looking at the large man, "Kazumi-san!"  
  
Kirishima paused in the doorway saying, "Kaida-san, you know those aren't good for you." He turned around and frowned at the muscle man, "Really, Suoh, I told you to stop buying her that junk."  
  
The big man smiled, "If she ate nothing but them sure, but a few every once in a while won't harm her." He dropped the box into Kaida's hands and patted the top of her head, "Besides she needs something sweet after consuming all that vegetable soup you keep pushing at her."  
  
"Fruit is sweet and significantly healthier." Kirishima took one of the bags the larger man held and looked through it, "I had several types on the list."  
  
"I'm certain they put everything you ordered in there; you're such a worry wart." The tall blonde carried the rest of the bags past the secretary. Kirishima was still fussing but his response to the blonde was lost to door closed behind the two of them.  
  
Aki felt Asami chuckle silently under him and turned to look at him. The man used his index finger to close Aki's mouth, which he'd not even known was hanging open before smiling, "You will have to ignore them. Suoh has six younger siblings while Kei only has one, a much, much younger one. They have different views on what is appropriate for teenagers."  
  
He shifted his hold on Akihito, turning him until he mostly faced Asami with his knees folded into the large seat's padding to the left of Asami's hips. The man captured Aki's eyes again, "Now, about those questions I have."  
  
Akihito shifted; Asami's hold was loose enough that it allowed him to pull himself upon the arm of the seat. Though Asami's left arm remained wrapped about Aki's waist. The position actual put Aki's head slightly higher than Asami's making him feel as if he had more control. Then Asami smirked up at him. Baka Aki thought. Like, I'm going to talk to him now. He started to turn his head only for Asami to cup his left cheek, "You're going to have to talk to me at some point."  
  
Aki just caught himself from leaning into the hand. Kami, the man makes him crazy. He jerked his head free and glared at Asami spitting out in a whisper, "Stop that."  
  
"Stop what, Kitten?" Asami's hand trailed down Aki's neck to his shoulder before following his arm and ending in circling his wrist. Asami's hand was palm up and the position of his fingers caused Aki's hand to rest in its embrace.  
  
"This," Aki pulled on his hand but couldn't free it. He was once again reminded how physically weak he was. Asami wasn't even holding his wrist tightly nor were the man's muscles tense. It stung Aki's pride, like he'd gotten a paper cut and the man was rubbing vinegar into it. He tugged his wrist again. "Let. Me. Go."  
  
Asami's smirk widened causing Aki to hiss at him, "And wipe that smirk off your face. This isn't funny. I am tired of you treating me like a child! I am an adult!"  
  
"Then prove it." Asami whispered the words as he held Akihito's eyes with his stare, "answer my questions."  
  
"What?!? How would that prove anything?"  
  
"You want me to treat you as an adult; a civil exchange of information would go a long way in proving you are one." Asami rose pulling Aki to his feet, "We can even do it my office."  
  
Aki glanced at Kaida before nodding stiffly. He allowed Asami to guide him down through the door that lead to the dining room, past the table and into a short hallway where he saw a large pantry on the left and a large laundry room on his right. They paused at the door in front of them while Asami pressed the panel that slid the door open.  
  
The office was astonishingly simple in Aki's opinion. Though after a few seconds of thought he realized he shouldn't be shocked. The traditionally, simple style of the room was actually very close to the more modern aesthetics the rest of the penthouse held. Asami might act like he was rich enough to own a country, but he actually had really good taste. His eyes glanced around the room and took in the furniture and rug. He took note that the book shelves were lined with books on Japanese history. More than half were about the Age of the Samurai with another healthy number dedicated to the art of blacksmithing swords. He glanced at the art on the wall and gasped.  
  
Asami watched as the boy's eyes lingered on the books lining his shelves, but was slightly surprised by the soft gasp the boy released when his eyes came to rest on the black and white photo collage among the art on the wall. He didn't fight when the boy stumbled towards the piece. Instead he walked closely behind ensuring the boy didn't tumble.  
  
Akihito just caught his fingers from touching the framed piece. It had been years since he'd seen it. He didn't even feel it was the best piece he'd submitted, however it was the one the prelim judges had liked most. He remembered taking each and every one of the four pictures.  
  
The long work was arranged in four quadrants. Each was a black and white photo super imposed over red colored Kanji of the four seasons the far right starting image was of a man holding up a young girl as she jumped over a puddle as a woman watched. You couldn't see any of their faces, but the girl was carrying a bunch of wildflowers some with broken stems, her feet were adorned with rain boots, and the adults' shoulders were wet with rain. The photo was of their backs. The Kanji read Haru (Spring).  
  
The next was of a woman and man walking along a beach picking up shells. The girl was lagging behind the adults, a large shell held up to her ear hiding her face. Her one piece swimsuit had strawberries on it. Once again the picture was taken from behind the subjects. The Kanji behind it read Natsu (Summer).  
  
Following that was the Kanji for Autumn, Aki. In it the girl was dressed in a nightgown. She stood next to a toy box sitting beneath an open window. A Violin was tucked under her cheek with the bow poised above the strings. The woman from the earlier pictures stood next to her hands out stretched to catch the sheet music. It was being swept off the music stand among a group of leaves flying in from the windows. The billowing curtains hid both of their faces.  
  
The finial panel was of an open door. The woman was leaving through it. She carried a suitcase and exited into gusting snow. The girl once again in a nightgown stood holding a stuffed cat by its tail. The snow was drifting around the girls' bare feet as she waved to the departing figure. This was Fuyu (Winter).  
  
Asami frowned at Akihito's reaction to the piece. He'd gotten it from a business man that had owned Sion a significant amount of back loans. The piece was the winning entry from some national photography competition nearly five years ago. It had taken first place for the traditional methodology sub category and fifth place for overall. He hadn't known who T.A. was when he'd agreed to take the piece in lieu of some of the owed interest. After acquiring it, he'd had Kirishima keep an eye out for any more of the photographer's work.  
  
The report his investigative team had given him a couple of days ago revealed why there were never any other works published by the boy. Just after entering the competition the elder Takabas had perished in a rare airbus crash. By the time the winners were announced Akihito and his sister had been moved out of their parent's apartment. Apparently the court appointed guardian had badly mismanaged their trust fund leaving the two with nothing but mounting debt.  
  
Luckily Japan had long since stopped asking children to pay for the mistakes of adults. However, both were still underage so the courts granted custody to the Second Chance Foundation, a group home for orphans past the age of adoption but too young to be on their own. There the paper trail ended. The last entry in their files was that both were reported as runaways just short of their sixteenth birthdays.  
  
That was May fifth two years ago. What the reports didn't show was what the teens had been doing since. How had they survived?  
  
More interestingly was the lack of information about their lives before the Takaba's adopted them. Records indicated both had been adopted just before their eighth birthdays from the state run Little Smiles orphanage. However the orphanage in question had been closed nearly twenty years before the adoption took place. Adding to the strange hole in their information neither teen seemed to have even existed before the adoption records were entered into the federal system. There were zero birth records, no blood relatives in any paperwork, nor even a hint as to where they came from before May second eighteen years ago when they moved into a small 3LDK in Hadano under the Takaba's care.  
  
Asami watched the boy stare at the photos. His eyes shimmered with tears; but he allowed none to actually fall. "Akihito?" Asami wasn't certain what he was asking. He had questions. A whole list of them, but the boy's reaction to the photo had him pausing. Should he try to wrestle the missing pieces of their lives from the boy or figure out why the photo upset him?  
  
Aki took the decision from Asami by softly whispering, "I was going to surprise them. The Takabas didn't know I'd entered the competition." He choked on a laugh. "They didn't even know I'd taken this picture." He touched the glass covering the image for Winter. "It crushed Kaida when they never came back."  
  
Asami voiced a pattern he'd discerned earlier, "You never call them Otou-san or Okaa-san."  
  
Akihito turned to look at Asami then; embarrassment colored his cheeks again. His voice sounded painful as he replied to the unasked question, "It never felt right." He looked back at the pictures. "They loved Kaida."  
  
Asami frowned as he moved closer to Aki asking, "and you?"  
  
Akihito pulled away. He took the few short steps needed to reach one of the two padded guest chairs in front of the desk and sat. Then just as Asami decided he wasn't going to answer he looked up and smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "I never trusted it would last." He looked at the floor then, "The Takabas tried, but it is hard to love someone that can't love you back." He shrugged, "It was enough they loved Kaida. She deserves to be happy."  
  
Asami's frown deepened but he merely hummed in response. He crossed the room and sat behind the desk formulating his next question. He settled on fishing for information after the deep dive reports came back on the Takabas. Instead he turned to questions he intended to lead Akihito towards deciding to stay under his care or at least ones that would allow the boy to believe he'd made the decision. "You say Kaida deserves to be happy. How do you plan on doing that with no place to live?"  
  
The boy looked up from the floor, "I can get a job. I've done it before."  
  
"Not very good ones from what I can see. You should know by now that decent places can't hire you if you have no identification. You also have to have an address, to have an address at your age you have to have a job or still be living with your parents." Asami leaned forward, "I meant what I said earlier; you're not leaving here until Riki-hakase says you're healthy." He held a hand up when Aki started to protest again. "However, I don't intend to keep you prisoner. Even once you're well, you still need a place to live, especially if you want to get a job."  
  
Aki crossed his arms, "An address doesn't do me any good when I still don't have any identification. And don't think I've conveniently forgotten about this council you and Megane-san keep bringing up." He huffed, "It's not like any of it matters anyway. Even if I did have an Id and an address, I never got to finish school. Day work is all I'm qualified for."  
  
Asami raised an eyebrow at that. Day work usually involved heavy labor such as moving crates of goods or equipment into areas to small or to awkward for the trolley bots to reach. While the boy's small size would benefit him some he'd never have been strong enough for that work. "What day work could you possible pick up?"  
  
Aki didn't just blush at that question. Every visible centimeter of his skin turned red. He stammered, "I well… I can fit into small places… you know… like……" he trailed off before finishing with a barely heard whisper, "chemical drains and sewers…… and other places."  
  
Asami was suddenly glad he wasn't holding one of his expensive halo pens. His fists tightened and he clenched his teeth so hard he was briefly surprised he didn't crack one. He closed his eyes and counted to ten again. The boy had zero sense of self-preservation. Plumbers were expensive because they didn't travel down the pipes, even the largest ones, themselves.  
  
No, licensed plumbers had various sized pipe bots, all adorned with tools and attachments meant to clean the pipe safely and store the gunk removed correctly for later disposal. A person doing the same work ran the very real risk of the sewer slime suffocating them or the chemicals in the pipe being lethal to breath.  
  
He opened his eyes and looked at the boy. He was embarrassed about the cleaning jobs; Asami was just glad the boy hadn't permanently harmed himself. He was about to ask how he found those jobs when he heard the boy whisper, "I preferred the pipes to the office work those fat branch managers always offered near the old Koto city hall."  
  
He counted to ten again. It wasn't something he was used to doing. Yell or shoot was the typical modus operandi for things that angered him. However, Asami hadn't become Jō by just being meaner than everyone else. Being a good leader required holding one's self back from action more often than actually taking it. It wasn't Akihito he felt like shooting, anyway. He filed the information about the Koto City hall away for later thought and acted like he hadn't heard Akihito's last sentence. "Do you want to finish school? Or does your sister?"  
  
Aki's head snapped upwards. "Finish school?" Hope flashed across his face before Asami watched him try and will it away. He attempted indifference, but apparently had never learned how to hide his emotions. He shook his head, "Nah, I can't afford it and it's not like I'd qualify for much better with only a high school diploma."  
  
"And Kaida?" Asami wasn't above using the girl's needs against Akihito. He settled back into his desk chair, "I've helped many people finish their education. I don't see why I couldn't help the two of you." He brought the tablet on his desk to life and gave it several taps before looking up again, "There are several private schools that would take your situation into consideration." Asami didn't bother to mention that Sion owned the schools.  
  
"What's the catch?" suspicion filled Akihito's voice. "I don't have any money neither does Kaida. What is it you want in exchange for Kaida to get to finish school?"  
  
Asami smiled, "Well even to go to school you'd have to have an address. You'd stay here until you graduated and if you qualify to attend university I'd expect you to go." He set the tablet down before looking at Akihito, "As for paying back the cost, there is no need. I told you I take care of what's mine."  
  
"We. Don't. Belong. To. You." Aki fought the urge to rise. He really wanted to do nothing more than storm out of the older man's office grab his sister and run from the apartment. However, he wasn't stupid. Kaida would probably never get another chance to finish school if he made them leave. "I insist on paying for the schooling though. Tell me what you want."  
  
The offer was strangely devoid of conditions. Asami even paused before answering to give the boy time to put some sort of boundaries around what he would be allowed to ask for. When Aki merely stared at the floor waiting Asami felt compelled to ask, "What would you do for your sister's sake?"  
  
Akihito looked up then, "I would sell my soul to the king of the Oni if it meant my sister was happy."  
  
His eyes were wide and full of sadness making Asami wonder if the boy had sold a piece of the precious item before they'd met. Asami smiled at him then, "I guess you'll have to work for me then."  
  
"Huh?!" Shock overrode the sadness in Aki's eyes.  
  
"What did you think I'd want you to do?" Asami watched as scarlet flooded the boy's cheeks. Akihito looked at the floor again and stuttered. Asami didn't try to understand the words he muttered. Instead Asami smiled, "Your first task is to finish school yourself." He leaned back in his chair as the boy's head snapped back up. Really the young man should pick a position and hold it. It was a wonder with the bobbing that his neck didn't hurt.  
  
"Fi…fin… finish school?" Aki leaned forward grasping the edge of the desk. "Why?"  
  
"I happen to have pretty high standards when selecting my workforce. You've already proven yourself resourceful in keeping both yourself and your sister not only alive but together since you left the Second Chance Foundation." Asami noticed the sudden palor covering the boy's face at the foundation's name. he filed that to be investigated later as well before continuing. "that speaks of fairly high intelligence. With proper diet and exercise you'd probably be relatively strong as well."  
  
Asami rose, crossed the office and stood in front of the photo collage again. "This is incredible work for a fourteen year old." He turned and faced Aki then, "My clubs and advertising department could use a competent photographer."  
  
Aki just stared at Asami. He swallowed and then ruthlessly pushed the brief sense of hope down. They weren't talking about his dreams. There was a catch in this deal somewhere he just wasn't sure where yet, "What else?"  
  
"You don't think that's enough?"  
  
"Kaida is a musician. Even if she passes the accelerated exams and only has to finish out one year of high school there is still four or even six years of college and music study before most employment locations would even look at a resume." He stood up then holding to the back of the chair as he spoke, "So five or six years of feeding and clothing, tuition, purchasing and maintain instruments, and how ever many sundries she'll need is going to cost a lot of money." He took a step forward, "If I agree to this I won't let you skimp on her."  
  
"I wouldn't." Asami held his smirk. His little fox kit was all bared teeth and raised hackles. Not because he was afraid or angry either. No Akihito was staring Asami Ryuichi down as he haggled over how Asami would take care of the boy's sister. "I will make sure you both have the best."  
  
"No need to worry about me." Aki frowned at him.  
  
Asami shook his head, "So you'll stay and work for me?"  
  
"Tell me what the catch is." The boy started to glare. "I know there is one; this is too generous; even if you are richer than the world."  
  
There was a catch, just not one he was ever going to tell the boy. He needed the boy to trust him. It would be especially important when the council approved him bonding with both Akihito and Kaida. It would be even more important when Asami finally bedded him. That however wasn't how he answered the challenge. "You're correct there is a catch. Paying off the debt is liable to take you your whole life."  
  
"What about Kaida?"  
  
"You are working off her debt." He stepped up to Akihito and grasped one of his arms, "We still have to negotiate for yours." He slowly bent his head.  
  
Akihito stared at Asami's lips all the way down flinching when they met. He was determined the kiss would not distract him, but Kami, the man's lips were amazing. Aki hated those lips when twisted into the seemingly perpetual smirk.  
  
Heat radiated from the hand holding his upper arm. Akihito heard a moan; it wasn't until Asami slipped his tongue into his mouth that Aki realized the moan had been his. Asami's other hand came up to hold the back of Aki's head as he pulled the boy closer. Aki tilted his own head; slanting his lips across Asami's and opening his mouth further.  
  
The man's kisses always started soft even gently. Soon, though, they would spiral into heated probing with the man's tongue forcing entry and sweeping along the inside of Aki's mouth. The ever present scents of tobacco and sweet cloves occasionally anchored with the ting of alcohol ran along Aki's taste buds. Aki fought for control of their battling tongues; he lost when the hand holding his arm moved to surround his waist.  
  
He was pressed against Asami's body. From lips to hips his entire front rubbed against the man. His legs were twined about Asami's left one while one of his sock clad feet stroked the back of Asami's calf. Akihito was moaning again. He barely registered the sounds and unconsciously raised his hands to grip the man's shirt. When Asami picked him up he immediately wrapped his legs about the taunt waist grinding his erection against the smooth muscles.  
  
Asami had not meant for the kiss to go this far; it was supposed to be a tease. A brief introduction to what could be. Akihito's first moan drove the original plan from his mind. When the boy tilted his own head and deepened the kiss Asami was shocked. He wrapped his arm about the boy's waist before pulling him flush against his own chest.  
  
When Aki raised his hands and gripped Asami's shirt the man truly lost it. He reached down and grabbed Akihito's bubbly ass in one hand and pulled the boy higher. Aki rubbed the hard on Asami had felt fleetingly against him and Asami finally groaned. He carried the boy to his desk and sat him it before opening his slacks one handed never really letting the boy leave their kiss.  
  
The tablet on his desk played a series of discordant notes. Akihito jerked from the kiss; stopping far enough away to stare in shock at Asami. The boy's face flushed red and a string of saliva dribbled from his lips. The tablet rang again. Asami bit back a curse and pulled the tablet closer glancing at the incoming request. It was in German.  
  
He tapped another image on the table and a halo vid of the kitchen came up; Kirishima and Suoh stood side by side at the counter, "Suoh, come fetch Akihito back to the couch." He shut the vid down without waiting for acknowledgement.  
  
Aki watched from his perch on the desk as Asami adjusted himself back into his pants. He was not ready to have sex with Asami. It was not that the man wasn't extraordinarily attractive. No, Aki's hesitation was that he'd never enjoyed sex but if his reaction to the man's kisses was anything to go by, he would probably enjoy it with Asami. Akihito feared what he would be losing once he gave in. The fear was accompanied by disappoint though. Part of Aki had seriously hoped the catch wasn't the expectation of sex.  
  
I shouldn't be surprised though, that's all the other old geezers ever wanted. Aki berated himself. I should know better than to expect something else. He squared his shoulders it wouldn't be the first time he'd taken up the ass for something Kaida needed. He thought of Kaida attending college, really it was a small price to pay for the return. Asami would definitely get the worse end of the deal; he been told how awful he was at sex.  
  
Asami watched the emotions play across Aki's face shock, embarrassment, fear, disappointment, and resignation. They all ended with a squaring of the shoulders though. Aki firmed his jaw and resolution set into his face. He opened his mouth only to be interrupted by Suoh's entrance to the office. Akihito set his hands on Asami's shoulders and slid off the desk. He took several wobbly steps towards the door on his own before Suoh stepped up to help.  
  
Asami watched him go; irritated that he couldn't just ignore the call for his attention The specific ring only sounded when other members of the council reached out. He'd need as many as possible owing him favors when they met next month. There was to be as few opponents to his claiming the two Radiants after presentation.  
  
His mind was already running through possible reasons the German Councilman would be calling when Akihito's voice called from the door. Asami focused on him.  
  
Aki stood as straight as he could, focusing his waning energy into holding his own body steady, before he turned around at the door and looked at Asami. The man was staring at the tablet on his desk. Akihito called his name, "Asami." When the man looked at him Aki looked into his eyes and said, "Your offer. I'll take it, catch and all." He didn't wait for a reply nor for any more help from the man named Suoh. He turned back and walked down the hallway. 


	4. Possibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is full of hints about what Asami's people really are and no they are not vampires nor are they werewolves.
> 
> I have never been to the Yakyu Inari Shrine, also called the Baseball Shrine in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama. My description of it comes from several photos found online.  
> \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sudo frowned at the other blonde in his office. Music drifted up from the dance floor below and his glance through the darkened glass displayed the busy club below. That was one worry off his plate. The club was packed. Every table and seat at the bar was filled with patrons. He'd already had to call in several of the girls that usually had the night off in to help with the large crowd. He glanced back at the blonde seated on the leather office couch, "It is not my fault your shipment got swiped out from under you. My only part was to find you a storage location. If those oranges were so important, you should have left guards."  
  
The larger blonde grunted, "My people don't see it that way Shu. You promised a safe storage location and when we returned with the buyer the next night everything was gone." He stood and held out a black tablet, "My boss wants you to get him something in recompense."  
  
Sudo took the tablet and glanced through the list, "I really don't agree this is my fault. However, if it will get you of my back I'll see what I can..." He stopped in shock and looked up at the man, "You have to be kidding me?"  
  
The man snorted his laughter, "No. You have twenty-five days. My boss will be coming to inspect the goods personally, so don't screw this up."  
  
"The weapons and drills will be hard enough, but there is no way those oranges were worth the engine." Sudo knew the worth of a single kilo of the new narcotic. The crates hadn't held enough even for the weapons they were asking for. However over delivering was why they kept coming back to him and the side business enabled him to keep the lifestyle he desired. The extra funds also paid for the clothes, hair treatments, and other necessities he believed kept his boss' attention on him whenever the man inspected his club.  
  
Sudo sighed stealing from Sion Corp's factories was dangerous business, however he was positive the new smuggling route he was opening with the eastern European group would smooth any ruffled feathers the act caused his obsession. After all, Sudo thought, I'm only doing this for him.  
  
He looked up from the list, "Fine, I'll get you the items on the list. It will take more than twenty-five days though. It is impossible to sneak out an entire engine. I'll have to have my people do it pieces and it will take time to put it together."  
  
The blond man grunted, "Fine, the weapons and drilling gear in twenty-five days and the delivery of the engine can be moved out to fifty days."  
  
"I'm not certain fifty days will be enough. My people on the inside will have to do a lot prep work before they can even start moving the parts."  
  
The large man stalked over to Sudo, who backed away until he was stopped by the cool glass overlooking the floor. The man loomed over him, "Fifty days, Shu, or your boss learning about your thefts will be the least of your worries."  
  
Sudo just nodded as sweat beaded on his forehead. The man turned and left then; Sudo did not watch him leave. Instead he looked back down at the list of items the group was demanding wondering if perhaps this was a little more than even Asami Ryuichi would ignore.  
  
Day twenty-six of cram school saw a long dark limousine parked outside the front gate. Akihito frowned when he saw it. The bastard had come to pick them up personally. Kaida broke into a grin when she saw Kirishima step out of the limo from the front passenger seat and quickened her steps to greet the man. Akihito slowed down. Six men in dark suits tensed causing the boy to frown further, but it wasn't them Aki was irritated with. It was the man in the limo.  
  
Aki had only slowed to marshal his thoughts for the upcoming argument he knew the two of them were about to have. He knew Asami would be angry if he slipped his guards, but he'd come back soon enough. He'd just needed some breathing room. The men acted like he and Kaida were made of glass.  
  
Their differential attitudes and constant insistence on address him as Takaba-sama had been bad enough. Then he'd had the incident. It shouldn't have been a big deal. The other young man may not have been looking where he was going, but neither had Akihito. The fall down the steps hadn't been bad but the stupid guards acted like he'd busted his head open.  
  
No sooner had Aki's brain registered his fall, five of the six had swoop around him, three prevented others from getting closer while the other two insisted on doing a full body check for injuries. They turned what should have been a minor accident into a major event that had over half the cram school gawking.  
  
Worse once they finally agreed to let Aki up and into the building everyone had stared at him. Kaida had tried to joke with him and distract him from the looks, but Aki felt them. It had been like thousands of ants crawling across his skin. He'd tried. He'd attended both the Calculus review and English language class before no longer being able to stand it.  
  
During the break between English and Social Science, the break where he and Kaida separated for different course reviews and the guards had to split up, he'd slipped into the bathroom and climbed out the available window. He'd gotten a text on the micro-computer he'd promised to always wear on his wrist less than ten minutes after his escape.  
  
Bastard: _Kitten, where are you?_  
  
Kitten: _Somewhere on the planet and stop calling me that!_  
  
Bastard: _You need to go back to class._  
  
Kitten: _I'm not going anywhere with those goons following me._  
  
Bastard: _So, you intend to renege on our deal?_  
  
Kitten: _No! I……I hate them. I feel like I can't breathe. Everyone stares._  
  
Bastard: _Akihito, go back to class, we can talk about this after I pick you up this afternoon._  
  
Kitten: _You don't have to do that. We have a fucking army following us around. I'm certain they can get us home._  
  
Bastard: _Go back to class; if for no other reason than to stop Kirishima from panicking._  
  
Kitten: _Fine. Wouldn't want Megane-san to have an aneurism._  
  
He'd climbed down from the building's roof then. Reentered the bathroom through the window he'd exited and slunk into the class twenty minutes late. Three additional guards joined the group normally around him. Now, since Kaida had already entered the limo, there were nine of them crowding behind him. Other students leaving for the day stopped and pointed. Aki increased his pace and quickly entered the vehicle without greeting Kirishima.  
  
Asami sat in the middle of the rear seat. On the far side Kaida was rummaging through her book bag. This forced Aki to sit next to the man he was currently irritated with. He attempted to sit as close to the door as possible but Asami placed an arm about his shoulders and hauled Akihito nearer until his right side was plastered to Asami's left. Akihito's skin warmed immediately everywhere they touched.  
  
When Kaida looked up her brother was blushing. He did that a lot around Asami. She could tell from the set of his jaw though that he was about to start a fight. In an attempt to head that off she thrust the tablet she held into Asami's hands, "I aced the English practice exam, Asami-sama!"  
  
He turned from his assessment of her brother and smiled at her, "Really?! That is excellent. Kei says that if you continue as you are, you'll be ready for the college entrance exams by the end of the month."  
  
"I hope he's right." She looked down at the test, "There is so much I forgot." He reached up and ruffled her hair; Takaba-shi had done that a lot also. She glanced to see if Aki noticed how gentle the man was with her. It would go a long way with getting her brother to trust this wasn't going to end like all their other attempts to have a family. However he'd turned his head and was pointedly staring out the window. She mentally huffed; there wasn't anything out there warranting the attention.  
  
She looked back up at Asami and smiled, "Kei-san has really helped with his additional tutoring." She glanced at the divider, "I should do something to thank him."  
  
"I'm certain he would like that," Asami looked at Akihito for a few minutes before continuing, "Would you mind if I steal your brother this afternoon? Kei will stay with you during your voice lessons and then take you to piano practice afterwards."  
  
"Sure," she smiled, "Though Kei-san doesn't have to go with me. I've already told Aki that. I think Ohta-san and the others are doing a good job of keeping me safe."  
  
Akihito's head snapped back to look at them both, "Wait…. What?…" He glared at Asami, "You'd better not be pushing more guards at us." He crossed his arms and glared mulishly at the man.  
  
Kaida frowned at her brother, "Aki, he's just offering to have Kei-san take me to voice and piano lessons today. There is no need to snap at him."  
  
Confusion crossed Aki's face before the mulish look came back, "I can take my nee-san to her lessons. There is no need to disrupt Kirishima-san's or your day further." He glared at Asami.  
  
The man ignored the look and smiled, "I need to take you somewhere and it will be closed before Kaida-chan's lessons are through." He settled against the seat, "Kaida says it's ok if I steal you for an afternoon."  
  
Akihito refused to respond. Of course his sister believed it was ok. Just as with the Takabas she'd quickly lost any hesitation at Asami and his men's kindness. In her mind there were no such things as ulterior motives. Aki had no illusions though. Still he really needed to talk to Asami, or yell at him if he was honest with himself, about the guards always hovering around him. Kaida would be safe enough with the three guards always assigned to her. Still he wouldn't give Asami the satisfaction of knowing Aki believed that. "Kaida, promise me you'll watch out for danger." He looked at Kaida as he spoke. "And don't let that Koji-sense sit close to you at the piano bench either. I'm not happy with how handsy he gets."  
  
Asami frowned and looked at Kaida, "Your Piano instructor is touching you?" He growled the question. He had not heard anything about this from her guards.  
  
Kaida huffed, "Aki, Koji-sense is only showing me how to hold my hands correctly and guiding me through the proper techniques. He doesn't touch me any more than Okaa-san ever did?"  
  
"Takaba-san never leaned over you and pressed against your back. If he does it today I want you to tell me. I'll have words with the academy, I'm sure there are other more professional instructors."  
  
Kaida crossed her arms and glared at her brother, "I'm not telling you anything and you can stop coming to my lessons if you're going to go on about the instructors. You've already chased off Ebisu-sense from my voice lessons."  
  
"He kept putting his hands on your chest!" Aki leaned around Asami and practically yelled at his sister.  
  
"He was pushing on my diaphragm to help me see how much air I should be putting behind my notes!" She flopped back down in the seat, "AARGG! You are so over protective! I'm really tired of the double standard, Aki!"  
  
Akihito shut his mouth; confusion crossing his features before he whispered out, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I know you slipped away from our guards this morning." She picked up her book bag as the limo slid to a stop outside a four story building surrounded by a wrought iron fence and large gate, "It's not fair that you refuse to allow anyone to look after you while hovering over me!" She didn't wait for a reply instead stomping away from the limo closely followed by Kirishima and her guards.  
  
Akihito just stared after her. His brain couldn't formulate words and his heart clenched in pain. Kaida and he reacted to most things differently; especially when it came to people. It wasn't that they held opposing views; Aki fully agreed that the bulk of humanity was kind, friendly, and honestly cared about others in the larger scheme of things. In most cases he was more than willing to give the people they met the benefit of doubt; to take what they say and do at face value. However he never really trusted they wouldn't turn someday.  
  
Aki had seen it before. The friendly history teacher that offered additional instruction after school because he was worried about the student's test scores only using the sessions to touch the young girls and boys once alone. The manager buying lunch for the whole office because of a strict looming deadline still taking time to trap the youngest staff member in the archives for a bit of groping. The street vendor donating the day's unsold pies to the local nursery school still chasing down and beating the starving street kid for taking one.  
  
There had been a time Akihito had used a camera to capture the opposing dichotomy of humanity. The teacher and the manger he followed and finally gathered enough evidence to give the police. Both were ousted from the school and company soon after. The street vendor he'd left pictures of the street waif's real life on his cart one day.  
  
Weeks later he'd seen the man tutoring the boy in how to give change to a customer and had followed them to the old man's small apartment. Subsequent follow ups showed the young boy thriving. The street vendor also started giving his unsold pies to the homeless.  
  
Kaida though never looked deeper. It wasn't that she was naïve; instead she was just less suspicious. Even knowing that people did things for reasons not entirely honest, she would still follow someone that was generous and sympathetic. Always trusting until that trust was broken. Kaida was intrinsically compassionate and affectionate. That others would display those qualities with ulterior motives always shocked her.  
  
Aki couldn't tell anyone when he'd stopped believing people were kind without reason. The cause had been lost along with the reasons he was so terrified of people in lab coats. He only knew that he hadn't believed the Takabas really loved Kaida and he until it had been too late. Just like he knew that his inability to stop looking for Asami's and Kirishima's real motives that prevented him from just accepting what Asami was offering.  
  
He turned back to the other window when the limo door closed. He heard Asami call his name and ignored him. He just knew the man was going to pester him about escaping his guards and in truth he wasn't certain he explain why the men's presence irritated him so. It wasn't like they'd interfered with anything he and Kaida had tried to do. Until this morning's spill Aki had almost started to ignore they existed.  
  
Asami said his name again and Aki grunted in response while keeping his eyes firmly on the passing scenery. The man's large, warm hand grasped Akihito's chin and turned the boy's face to his. Aki looked down at the man's dress shirt rather than meet his eyes. He was confused and embarrassed about his sister's parting words. He just knew Asami was going to tease him about it or worse ask questions Aki knew he couldn't answer.  
  
Asami just looked at Akihito for several minutes. He personally thought they should just get whatever it was Akihito was thinking out in the open. If only so it would give Asami time to counteract whatever idiotic idea the thoughts developed into. However when Akihito refused to look him in the eye Asami knew that trying to talk about it would only devolve into another argument. They'd had several over the past weeks.  
  
The first was over the fact that Asami had brought in a crew to take down and put up new walls in the penthouse. Originally there had only been the master bedroom and one large guest room next to which sat a much smaller storage room. Asami had hired a construction crew to come in and turn the guest room and storage room into two sizable bedrooms. Each smaller than the original guest room but still larger than either room Akihito or Kaida had slept in with the Takabas, according to Kaida that is.  
  
The fact he'd also filled both rooms with furniture and added clothing to the large dressing room just beyond the master bedroom for them both had caused another. Then there was one about the private tutors and the expensive, to Akihito, study materials for their tablets. A device that had its own special argument before Aki accepted his.  
  
Each fight had the same cadence. It started with Asami or Kirishima bring the siblings something he or Kei had decided they needed. Most often Aki would watch Kaida exclaim over whatever it was and thank both of them. Often she'd try out whatever it was immediately tablets and books were perused and clothing quickly tried on. Sundries and baubles were utilized or given prominent display on her ever crowed bookshelves. She and Akihito would thank them several times in person and both always wrote formal notes.  
  
However most items they brought for Akihito would remain unpackaged sometimes for days. He'd only grudgingly accepted the original set of clothing they'd given him. Weeks later still found the tags on the bulk of the clothing. He seemed intent on using as few pieces as possible. Other items were usually found hours or sometimes days later still wrapped on Asami's desk or in Kirishima's briefcase. Always with a note thanking them for thinking of him but reminding them that his arrangement was for Kaida's benefit and he really needed to keep his own cost as low as possible.  
  
Akihito never said a word about any money spent for Kaida. In truth the boy would argue as strongly for something he thought the girl needed as he did against anything Asami or Kei purchased for him. It left Asami in a strange predicament. The only way he'd found to get the boy to accept anything was to insist and in most cases clearly demonstrate why the item was required for Akihito to learn what he needed to know to work for Asami.  
  
Worse the boy insisted that they produce a receipt for every single item even for the items that were clearly meant to be gifts. At first the boy had even kept careful account of how much budget in food the two of them ate. Their biggest fight to date was over the fact that he'd hidden the fact he wasn't drinking the special protein shakes Riki-hakase had prescribe they drink to help gain weight. The boy had been putting his back so that they'd save on expenditures.  
  
Asami stared down at the top of Aki's head as he remembered that fight. He'd come into the kitchen one night to find Aki in the fridge and while he hadn't cared the boy was there he had casually asked if there was something he could help the boy find. Akihito had jumped at the question popping his head and hands out of the cool space as his face turned pale. Asami watched as the boy had tried to hide the bottle behind his back. He'd chuckled saying, "I'm pretty sure you can have more than two of them a day. Though I'm surprised that is what you're sneaking; you always act like you hate them." The boy had mumbled and shoved the bottle into the fridge before retreating back to his room.  
  
It was the next day that Asami learned what the boy had really been doing. He was deep into reviewing a contract with his British partners when Kei had come into the room frowning at his tablet. He'd only paused briefly, ensuring he had Asami's attention before he asked, "Sir, are you certain the boy is drinking his protein shakes?"  
  
"Reasonably, yes, why?" Asami had set down the contract at that point. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
"Well…" Kirishima had paused before saying, "I'm sorry sir, but if he's drinking the shakes then where are all the extra ones I keep finding in inventory coming from?"  
  
"What extra ones?" Asami reached for his own tablet and Kirishima sent him the penthouse inventory sheets. A brief glance told Asami what Kirishima was seeing. Kei had most perishables on recurring orders to be delivered either daily or every other day from Asami's preferred stores. Since the teens had joined him one of those perishables were four bottles of variable flavored protein drinks. However instead of the stock reducing as expected Kei had found that when he took inventory the stock had not reduced but grown. The teens were supposed to drink two a day at least. They'd only been prescribed to them six days before meaning that if Kei's numbers were correct, and Asami had no reason not to believe them, one of the teens had only consumed three of their servings.  
  
Asami hadn't even entertained Kaida being the one that had not consumed the drink. Between her brother and Kirishima the girl's every bite was monitored. Akihito on the other hand was an expert at hiding just how much or in his case how little he ate. They'd already had to move him across the table and on the other side of his sister to keep him from sliding food to her plate.  
  
He'd had the guards assigned to Akihito bring the boy to him at Sion. The whole conversation started with Aki cursing him for separating him from his sister. Though, the boy had become remarkably quiet when confronted with the evidence of his deceit. He'd briefly fought even answering Asami's question of why. Eventually, the stretching silence Asami had allowed between them caused the boy's cheeks to turn red. Asami almost hadn't heard the whispered, "they cost too much."  
  
Apparently Akihito was desperately trying to control just how much he'd owe Asami once Kaida finished school. The boy had installed an accounting app on the tablet Asami had convinced him to use and was tracking to the yen just how much was spent on the two teens. The boy had even included several sheets with various compounding interest rates.  
  
Asami had gotten offended and angry the boy would think he'd charge anyone some of the interest rates the boy was tracking. However he'd actually yelled about the belief the boy thought he'd make him pay for food. The conversation had\ eventually reduced to name calling by Akihito and threats by Asami. Eventually Aki had slammed his way out of the office. Fifteen minutes later his guards had called saying they'd lost him. That had sent cold shivers down Asami's spine.  
  
He'd gone from being angry at the boy's assumptions to cold fear. Tokyo was still the largest city in Japan. It had easily thirteen million people in its twenty-three primary wards alone. It took Kei to remind him that the boy was unlikely to leave his sister for Asami to start thinking again. At worst the boy was making his own way to either the penthouse or his sister's piano lessons. Asami had ordered the guards to follow the path to the girl's lessons and sent a second group out to follow the most direct route to the penthouse.  
  
An hour later the leader of the second group had called in to tell Asami they'd found the boy in the park across the five lane street from the penthouse. He'd been running the parkour course there. Asami had quickly finished the meeting he was in and called his car around. Asami spent ride to the park marshaling his arguments about both the food and Aki losing his guards. He had been full of self righteous indignation at the both the boy's thought process and actions. He'd fully intended to corral his Radiant and force the boy into submission.  
  
With those thoughts in mind he'd not even waited for Kei to open the car's door, instead alighting from the vehicle before it fully stopped. The sight that met him though halted his angry stride. Akihito was indeed running the course, the most difficult part of it fact. He literally looked like he was flying. Feet barely touched the ground as he crossed the fake rooftops and hands consistently found the most useful places to grip as he climbed the replica drain pipes and fire escapes.  
  
Others stood around the course pointing excitedly. The lead of the guards that found him approached Asami quietly and they'd watched for several seconds before the young man said, "He's run the course three times since we found him. He's already broken the fastest time posted and then beaten that."  
  
Asami glanced at his man who showed him the stop watch he was running. When the crowd cheered the man stopped the counter at three minutes and four seconds. The board outside the course had the most recently recorded time at seven minutes even.  
  
Asami shook his head and walked towards Akihito. The boy was surrounded by other enthusiasts each congratulating him with peppered questions. Aki was slowly going pale and flinched more often than not from the friendly pats the group was giving him. Panic seized his limbs; Asami called his name. "Akihito." The boy had looked at him helplessly. Asami signaled the guards to push their way through the throng and provide him an escape. The boy had all but run to his side and nearly hid behind his body as they made their way back to the limo.  
  
Once there Akihito had quietly apologized, "Sorry for yelling at you." He'd glanced up and grinned as he said, "You're still a bastard," he'd blushed then and rubbed the back of his neck before continuing, "but maybe you're not those other things I said."  
  
In truth Asami couldn't even remember Akihito calling him a bastard. Beyond the fact he'd been calling him names Asami had not registered much else. He'd sighed and replied, "I don't apologize, Akihito." The boy had deflated at that, "However, I am willing to admit that I approached you about the protein shakes in the wrong way." Aki's head had snapped up with that confession. Asami still frowned at him, "You, though, are under several invalid assumptions about how this agreement of ours really works."  
  
"I don't understand," had been his reply.  
  
"I know." Asami settled back into his seat and told Suoh to take them to the penthouse. "I have Kirishima correcting that for you."  
  
Akihito had frowned before asking, "How is he going to be able to do that?"  
  
"He's drawing up a contract." He'd smiled at the boy then, "He'll bring it by the penthouse tomorrow. Since it is the weekend you'll have all day tomorrow to review it before we discuss and sign it Sunday."  
  
"A…a….contract?" He'd been surprised and had stuttered out the beginning of several questions. Each one Asami had interrupted telling him that he should read the contract before trying to change anything. Kirishima had been told to make the contract as clear as possible.  
  
Asami had been very pleased with the agreement Kei had crafted. Not being worded in the normal lengthy legalese that would have made it hard to follow it was very 'clear'. It had contained one clause clearly stating the cost of room and board, further simplified by stating room was living space in the penthouse and board was the consumption of any food or drink provided at the penthouse or any other location acquired with Asami's money, would never be included in the amount Asami expected the boy to pay back. There were also clauses covering most situations where Asami would expect to be allowed to make decisions for the boy and his sister. That section had included the assignment of bodyguards and purchases of equipment, clothing, and sundries Asami deemed required for the work he expected Akihito to perform.  
  
Then there was a section that covered work Asami desired Akihito to perform over the next six years and had contained the provision that at that time a new contract would be drafted for any remaining debt. It had also stated how much Aki would make an hour and how those earnings would be automatically spilt into thirds. One third would be applied to the debt which had a surprisingly realistic interest rate attached. One third would be placed into a savings account. The last third was made part of a joint account from which both Aki and Kaida could pull money for daily use.  
  
Any layman reading the contract would find the agreement more than reasonable. They'd also miss the rather open interpretation left for the word "required" and other even more generic statements in the details. Nor would the layman notice that most of the decision making power of the agreement was left in Asami's hands. Akihito was definitely a layman.  
  
In fact he'd only questioned one part of the agreement. First he'd insisted that he and Kaida shouldn't be living in the penthouse; that a small 2k or 2dk was more than adequate for them. After Asami had finally convinced the boy that many Sion employees resided in the expensive building the boy had instead argued he should be paying something for being allowed to live in the penthouse. After all none of Asami's other employees did.  
  
Akihito had known that only Kei, Suoh, Riki-hakase, plus two others were even allowed to live past the sixty-seventh floor of the apartment building. Something his sister had learned from conversations with Kei. Kirishima's and Suoh's apartments were located on floor sixty-nine and floor sixty-eight was where Riki-hakase and the two people Aki and his sister had not yet met lived.  
  
Floors fifty through sixty-seven housed the elite members of Sion's security force. Everything from the actual bodyguards to the handful of people whom maintain their equipment and the techs that enabled and ran all the computerized security measures lived on those floors. Each group separated by how experienced or qualified they were to be a line of defense in Asami's empire. Below that lived many of the employees of Sion proper along with the various other businesses Sion Incorporated owned and controlled.  
  
Asami had wanted to argue with the boy about paying for housing. He didn't make any of his other mages pay for it. In fact he never intended for Akihito to pay for his or Kaida's school either. He already covered all of the expenses of the young Fire and young Water he'd taken into his group a couple of years ago. The "deal" was just to convince the boy to stay until such time as the council gave Asami permission to attempt to bond with the teens. However, even though it rankled he'd acquiesced to the adjustment to the housing clause.  
  
Nevertheless, he'd refused to have the cost of an apartment in the high rise added to the dollar amount. Instead he'd proposed that Akihito take on caring for the penthouse instead, reminding the boy that the addition of him and his sister had added two additional people for Kei to pick up after and cook for. The boy had quickly agreed and since then Kei had found he had more free time daily since the boy refused to allow Kirishima to perform any of the household chores.  
  
The days that followed were nearly peaceful; except when it came to the guards. Regardless of the contract Akihito chafed under their constant vigil. It wasn't that the boy thought they were unneeded. In truth he was the one that asked if two or more of the guards on Kaida could be female. He'd worried about the looks his sister got from some of the older females at the vocal school. Asami had requested Suoh to make the changes immediately. No, it wasn't the protection the guards supplied that bothered the boy. From what Asami could tell it was the attention their presence aroused.  
  
Asami knew from experience that the boy hated to be stared at. He'd blush under Asami's gaze fidgeting when that gaze held certain thoughts. However, should anyone stare too long the boy would go from embarrassment too anger. The length of time it took to get there might take longer with Asami than others, but the root cause was the same. Akihito didn't want there to be anything about him that warranted interest, especially intense interest. His reaction was always the same, discomfort at being noticed, embarrassment he'd caught someone's attention, and finally anger when people kept observing.  
  
The silence in the limo stretched. Usually Akihito would get embarrassed and try to fill the quiet with some sort of chatter. Today he merely sat staring at Asami's buttons. It was clear that his sister's words were causing Akihito to spend time in deep thought. Asami was no longer certain he was prepared to interrupt that introspection. However, the limo was slowing and turning into a fenced yard surrounding a Victorian inspired building. "hey, look at me."  
  
The confusion in Aki's eyes overlay an underlying fear that Asami had seen before. He still hadn't probed the boy for information about his and Kaida's lives before the Takabas. The peace that had almost settled between him and Aki after signing the contract still seemed too delicate to bring his personal interest in their past into the balance even gently. Now was not the time to probe either. So, far he'd only ensured that the fear was not of him personally or any of his men and that information was determined more from observation than anything Akihito had said.  
  
Asami rubbed his thumb along Aki's bottom lip, "I agree we need to talk about the guards." Surprise covered the confusion and fear. Asami continued before the boy could speak, "We'll talk tonight after dinner." He looked out of the window then and nodded, "First there is someone I'd like you to meet."  
  
Aki nodded; he was relieved that Asami wasn't going to push him for answers and at the moment he'd have agreed to almost anything. He was so thankful that when Asami exited through the door Suoh had opened and held out a hand to help him from the limo Aki didn't even grumble. Asami smirked at his lack of resistance causing Akihito to blush. Thus it was with pink tinged cheeks that he followed Asami up the wide front steps and to large double doors.  
  
Suoh rang the doorbell and Akihito could hear the deep boom of heavy bells sound through the house and yard. The high bright voice that beckoned them to come around the back of the house was in sharp contrast to the solemn sound. Asami smiled again and led both Akihito and Suoh around the side of the house, down a stone walkway and through a fenced trellis. The smell of roses filled the air; bees, both biological and bot, hummed about the thick cords of flowers. The gate opened on the largest flower garden Akihito had ever seen.  
  
The space was almost the size of the small park across from the penthouse. Four meter high walls surrounded three quarters of the space. There were several large old growth trees; Sakura, Ginkgo, and Japanese Maple among what Aki thought might be British Oak and Canadian Redbud. The ground of the yard was spilt by rambling stone paths between which a rich variety of shrubs, ferns and flowers grew. The aforementioned walls were covered in various old growth vines of roses, wisteria, and ivy. They hung in thick twisted ropes laden with leaves, flowers, and wisps of new growth curling away from the red brick. Among the lush vegetation was an old woman. She sat low to the ground on a rolling stool. In one gloved hand she held a spade the other held what Aki finally decided was a weed after the woman tossed the plant into a bucket from which the spindly tops of other plants could be seen.  
  
Asami smiled at the woman and bowed nearly in half. Akihito was so surprised the man had even bowed that he almost failed to follow suit. Asami rose saying, "Morihogosha Aibi-sensei this is Takaba Akihito-san" He pulled Akihito forward causing Aki to stutter out a greeting and bow again.  
  
The woman laughed before saying, "He's beautiful, Ryu." She chuckled when Akihito blushed and then gestured him to another of the rolling seats on the other side of the bucket, "there's another pair of gloves there. Help an old woman finish the weeding." She turned back to the flower bed in front of her and rooted around the thick growth before pulling out another spindly plant and tossing it in the bucket.  
  
Aki smiled at the look of confusion that crossed Asami's face. He stepped around the woman and pulled on the gloves. He would willingly help anyone that could make the man look as unsure as Aki normally felt. He picked up the other spade and parted the leaves in front of him before pointing to a plant he felt looked like the ones in the bucket, "Is this one, Oku-san?"  
  
The woman smiled at him and he realized she had bright green eyes, "Yes, very good eye young man. Very good." She looked up at a practically gapping Asami and frowned, "Well you've dropped him off Ryu, you can come back for him in an hour."  
  
Asami started to say something only for her to interrupt, "Go on now, I can't very well get to know this young Radiant with you hovering. He's safe with me."  
  
Finally Asami sighed and bowed, "As you wish, Oku-san. Akihito we'll be back in an hour."  
  
The old woman chuckled as Asami retreated back through the garden gate. Aki had listened to the exchange tensing at the word Radiant. However the woman made no mention of it in the minutes that followed Asami's departure. Instead she talked, mostly about flowers and plants. She covered the types they were digging around and why it was important to weed the beds. She talked about the trees in her garden and what each meant in the centuries before science over shadowed the mystical arts and exposed much of the universe to public consumption.  
  
Sometimes when she paused Aki would ask a question. He was strangely captivated by the woman's passion over her spot of living earth in what was otherwise a city of concrete, steel, and glass. During the first forty-five minutes of his stay with Aibi-sensei, which she had asked him to call her, he learned a little bit about gardening, interesting bits of Japanese and World history, and that the woman was a professional photographer. In fact she was one of the three judges that had provided the final votes in the only competition Aki had ever entered.  
  
When Asami returned Aki had just finished a cup of rose hip tea. Aibi-sensei made her own from the vine roses in her yard. That had been his fourth cup after he had eaten cucumber sandwiches, nibbled on the tiniest cakes he'd ever seen, and consumed the smoothest vanilla custard he ever tasted. He was standing in the small receiving room just to the right of the old woman's front door silently gazing at the photos crowding the dark oak paneled walls.  
  
Asami almost missed him as he followed the silent Majrodom that answered the doorbell peal. It was only the glint of the lowering sun on Akihito's hair that caught his attention. He slowed and then waved Suoh along with the butler to Aibi-sensei's library. He crossed the small round entryway and leaned against the door frame of the receiving room. Light bounced around the room catching on each gilded frame and piece of glass that covered the extensive collection of photographs the old woman had hung on the walls.  
  
Asami knew that many were taken by the woman herself; he'd not tell the boy that, yet. Several centuries of history graced the wall. From the building of Japan's first railway to the breaking of ground of the current Sion tower. Pictures of both world wars and the launch of the first generational ship taking their people beyond earth into the stars were among the works. There were also breathtaking photos of sunsets, as well as barely lit, yet somehow sunny forest glades, and tons of flowers, the woman's true passion.  
  
Asami had seen them all numerous times. More often now that he served on the council with the woman. It wasn't the beauty of the pictures that held him still at the door though. It was the breath taking sight of Akihito calm.  
  
His focus on the photo he stood in front of was so absolute Asami was certain a typhoon would be required to remove it. Part of him was jealous, the rest of him smiled. There were no side glances, no checks on his surroundings, no poise on the balls of his feet in preparation to flee. Akihito at peace was the most beautiful thing Asami had ever seen.  
  
"The lantern walkway in Fuji Omuro Sengen. You should take him, so he can capture it through his own viewfinder." Aibi-sensei whispered next to Asami. He glanced down at her questioningly, "I expect you to arrange for him to spend six hours with me every Saturday. He'll need the list of equipment I gave Suoh." She turned to go and paused, "Oh, and make sure any guards you have on him can't be seen. You know how much I hate people hovering."  
  
Asami bowed as she left; he knew she didn't need his answer. He would provide her and Akihito anything she asked for. Aibi-sensei hadn't taken an apprentice in over five hundred years. He knew that she wasn't taking the boy because Asami had asked either. She'd turned down others before his time. Families with much greater power before the world wars had changed their race forever. Sons and daughter of kings, emperors, and sultans had all been turned down back when she was merely an artist with canvas and paint as well as all through the centuries after she'd switched to modern cameras.  
  
He should make arrangements to have tea with her someday soon. He was honestly curious what she could see in the boy. Asami was still having difficulty quantifying the thoughts and feelings Alihito invoked in him. At least he didn't have to worry about the forest guardian harboring thoughts of keeping the Radiant for herself. She'd released all but two of her mages to bond with new Jō so they could join the generational ships seeking new planets. They had begged her to join them. Her own powers and experience would have eased many minds about keeping the large vegetation decks of the ship in good condition. However, Morihogosha had insisted her duties were on earth and that until the mother of all things choose for Aibi to shuck her mortal coil she would remain in the mother's service.  
  
He turned back to Akihito. The boy had switched his gaze from the photo of the shrine to one from the Philippines. A line of men were marching through thick undergrowth; from their outfits the men looked to be soldiers. Asami only knew the picture was from WWII because of the caption. Akihito didn't stay on that picture long before he moved on through the personal gallery. He only spent a few seconds looking at some of the pictures; on others he spent minutes. However from the relaxed pose and focused eyes Asami realized the boy was seriously studying each piece. Asami was loathe to interrupt, but a glance out the window to the sun reminded him that there was one more place he still needed to take the boy.  
  
He glanced back at Akihito and noticed he'd stopped in front a picture taken not long after the Allied Troops had taken Germany. It was one of the few in Morihogosha's gallery she had not taken herself. The picture was of a bombed German castle. In the photo smoke still rose from the structure and the blackened out hull of a German tanks resting in the field of wild forget-me-nots. Aki's hand was reaching out; he just stopped his fingers from touching the glass protecting the image.  
  
Asami watched as Akihito's stance changed, his face paled, his hands started shaking, and he rose to the balls of his feet. All the peace the boy had found in the image of the shrine was lost as his eyes went wide and he started moaning from the back of his throat. Asami was across the room in seconds. He grasped Aki's right arm and spun him from the image. For several seconds Aki fought him thrashing in his arms. The only noises he made were quite whimpers.  
  
Aki didn't know when Asami entered Aibi-sensei's gallery. All he knew was that one moment he was looking through the gallery trying to pick the three that spoke to him the strongest, as the woman had requested, and the next he was wrapped in Asami's arms. His head was tucked under the man's chin. His back was being rubbed soothingly and Asami was whispering into his hair that he was safe and that Asami would protect him. He stiffened and Asami released him enough so that Aki could look up into the man's face.  
  
Asami cupped his cheek and looked in his eyes with concern before asking, "Are you ok?"  
  
Aki shook his head, "I…I don't know." Aki shivered and pressed himself to Asami's warmth. "What happened?"  
  
"You'll have to tell me." Asami replied stroking Aki's cheek with his thumb. He nodded towards the wall. "You were looking at that picture from World War Two Germany and just panicked."  
  
Aki started to turn around, but Asami halted his movement with fingers on his jaw. He tilted Aki's head back and captured his eyes before asking, "Are you sure?"  
  
Akihito shook his head, "but waiting isn't going to answer your question."  
  
Asami smiled. No one could say Akihito was a coward. The boy was frightened. However he was also curious and though his shivering had not stopped he was slowly turning around. Asami wasn't certain if Aki realized he was still leaning into Asami's chest though and Asami wasn't going to tell him. Instead he adjusted his stance so that Aki's weight didn't move him about as the boy shifted his body so he could look at the picture again while still burrowing into Asami's chest.  
  
Aki was willingly leaning on Asami consciously or not and Asami wasn't about to be anything less than the pillar of strength he was being treated as. Once Asami found out what about the picture frighten the boy so he'd take care of that also. Akihito would see Asami would protect and care for him. It would be one more reason for his kitten to choose to stay.  
  
Akihito was oblivious to the thoughts running through Asami's head as he turned in the man's arms. He tried to suppress the shivers that ran through him as he moved slightly away from Asami's warm body. However, he didn't protest when once fully turned around with eyes focused on the hardwood floor Asami closed the small gap and pressed against his back from shoulder to hip. Asami's arms were wrapped around Aki's stomach and Aki unconsciously rested his hands on the man's biceps. He shivered again but when Asami hugged his back he raised his gaze and looked at the paintings on the wall.  
  
It took a couple of seconds to find the photograph Asami had spoken of. However when he did he heard himself moan and he felt himself pressing back against Asami's chest. The man's arms tightened again, "Aki, are you still with me."  
  
Aki didn't answer immediately; instead he turned and buried his face in Asami's chest. He nodded before gasping out, "I know that place."  
  
Asami turned their bodies around so that he stood between Akihito and the picture that troubled him before he asked, "From when?"  
  
Aki shook his head against Asami's chest, "I don't know." He looked up then, "It's a bad place. I don't like it." He burrowed deeper into Asami's chest, "Please, don't make me go there."  
  
Aki started shaking again; Asami tightened his hold on the boy and looked back at the picture. It had been taken in Hannover, Germany. Asami knew several old castles and estate homes were bomb by the Allies as part of their invasion. The Schloss Herrenhausen castle was one of the more famous, though the picture was not of it.  
  
He looked down at his boy; though his facial features were classic Japanese, his hair and eyes could well be from German ancestors. Aki's response to just seeing a picture of the castle was another clue to the list Asami needed in order to find out what happened in the eight years between Akihito and Kaida's birth and their adoption by the Takabas.  
  
He filed the information away for another day and guided Aki out of the room murmuring soothingly to him. "You don't have to go anywhere."  
  
Suoh and Aibi stood at the door waiting on them. Aibi-sensei opened her mouth in concern, but a subtle shake of Asami's head halted her questions. Akihito, however, stopped their exit at her side, pulled his face from Asami's chest and tried to smile at her, "I found my three, Aibi-sensei."  
  
The old woman smiled back at him, "And which were they young one? Which photographs spoke to you?"  
  
Aki took a dep breath before pushing away from Asami's chest and facing the older woman fully, "Journey, Silence, and Wildflowers."  
  
Aibi-sensei briefly looked shocked but quickly covered with, "What inspired those choices?"  
  
Akihito turned red and looked at the polished granite floor for several seconds before whispering, "Wonder, Peace, and Fear." The last word was so soft the other three people almost didn't hear it. None of them missed Aki backing into Asami's chest however or his nearly suppressed shudder at the word.  
  
Aibi glanced briefly at Asami before responding, "We shall start with Wonder then. I'll have an electronic copy of Journey sent to you. Write me up four to six locations you believe would invoke the same feelings in yourself and others. You're welcome to pick anywhere in Japan for this assignment." She turned to Asami then, "Ryuichi, Please join me for tea tomorrow. We will need to discuss the specifics of Akihito-san's apprenticeship."  
  
Aki's head snapped up; shock covered his face, "Wait, you want to teach me?" He gapped for several seconds hope and wonder lighting his face. Then he snapped his mouth shut and closed his eyes. When he opened them again the light was gone and he kept his sight firmly fixed on Aibi's left shoulder, "Thank you for the opportunity, Sensei. I regret I cannot pursue it." He bowed before turning to leave.  
  
Asami caught his arm as Aibi smiled and asked, "Nonsense child, why ever can't you?"  
  
Aki swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. To be anyone's apprentice would be a dream come true. However, he knew the costs associated with the position. He and Takaba-shi had researched it as they were preparing him and Kaida for secondary school. Aki had known then he'd never have the chance. Aibi-sensei would teach art, something unneeded for advertising pictures of clubs and hotels.  
  
The little bit of technical instruction she would provide could be easily picked up via free halo-vids and net articles. So, just like he'd determined nearly four years ago when he'd first researched the possibility he gave it up; he would settle for ensuring Kiada's dream came true. He would be perfectly happy with the photography Asami was already asking him to perform. Besides he didn't even own any cameras.  
  
He turned to explain only to have Asami put a finger to his lips before saying, "I apologize, Aibi-sensei. I'm afraid I did not tell Akihito he was interviewing with you for the opportunity as part of his contract with me?"  
  
Aki jerked his lips from Asami's fingers gasping, "Part of my contract? Asami you hired me to take photos of your clubs and hotels or maybe some of your staff for publications. I don't need to apprentice to the most famous Japanese photographer of our time to do that." He looked at Aibi continuing, "I really am sorry to have you lead on about me sensei. But, I don't even own any cameras any more. 'Seasons' is probably the only piece I'll ever publish."  
  
The room about them grew chilly as Aibi fixed her eyes on Aki. Her gaze pierced his and Aki found he was unable to move under her scrutiny. It felt like she was searching his soul. Suddenly she smiled again and patted his hand, "Come back on Saturday my boy and bring those photography location suggestions with you. Put the work in and everything else will fall into place."  
  
She turned to walk back into her library then only turning when Aki protested once again. She waved a hand at him laughing, "Hush, young Radiant and do as I've instructed. I have decided you are my apprentice and my apprentice you shall be."  
  
Asami nearly laughed at the confusion crossing Akihito's face. He held back however with the thought that had it been him that had laughed off Aki's clear distress at the situation he'd have his hands full of a yelling, cursing, angry kitten. He reached over and closed Aki's mouth. The boy looked at him and frowned before glaring at him. Ah there was the anger. Apparently denied the root cause, Akihito deemed Asami a suitable substitute.  
  
"I only set up the meeting; you got the apprenticeship on your merits. No one, even our oldest Council members, tells Morihogosha Aibi what to do." He said interrupting what was clearly going to be a tirade.  
  
Aki paused before releasing his stream of thought at Asami. Aki had attempted to turn the opportunity down. He'd clearly stated that he did not own the necessary equipment to be even a mediocre student much less one befitting Aibi-sensei's experience. The old woman however, had insisted. Yelling at Asami for putting him in this position would not change the fact that the old woman clearly expected him to return on Saturday with the assignment completed. Luckily he didn't need a camera to come up with a list of suggestions.  
  
Suoh cleared his throat saying, "Asami-sama, we should be going if we wish to visit Taimukīpā Chimon-sama before he retires for the day."  
  
Aki watched Asami nod before the man gestured to the door. Aki stepped out of the house and squinted at the sun low in the west. It shone almost directly on the Victorian Front porch causing the brass fittings on the door and wrapped around the pots of colorful plants to glimmer. He shielded his eyes and quickly crossed the spaces between door and car to enter the limo. His head was still reeling with the idea he was apprenticed to Morihogosha Aibi but as the vehicle pulled around the cement drive Asami's comment came back to him. He jerked his head up and looked at Asami whispering furiously, "She's a member of this council you want to give Kaida and I to?"  
  
He reached for the limo's door handle but Asami hauled him into the middle of the long bench seat saying, "Yes. She'd a member and my friend. I was going to introduce you but Aibi does things her own way. To be honest I wasn't even hoping for an actual Apprenticeship. She has only ever had one other in her life."  
  
"Wait!" Aki turned in the man's arms and shoved at his chest, "So the interview was a lie? I knew it; nothing you need pictures of would warrant that expense." Aki slumped into the seat and looked at the carpeted floor. "I guess she'll understand after next Saturday." The woman's connection to the mysterious council was forgotten as Aki looked out the window again, "I wonder if she'll let me help her weed her garden again?"  
  
Asami held his sigh, the boy was doing it again. He really couldn't see that anything worthwhile should happen to him. It wasn't a lack of belief good things happened. No, the boy not only believed they could but actually worked towards them. It was just those events happened to others. Mainly his sister, if Aki had any sway over matters. However, Asami had seen the boy spend equal effort to ensure the man Sion security had found digging through the company garbage got a happy outcome.  
  
In fact the boy had spent his own pocket money to get the man clean clothes, a bath and food, before sitting with him and talking. When Akihito was done the boy had almost dragged the poor man to Kirishima's office and forced an interview. Apparently the man had once been an accountant.  
  
The company he'd worked for had gone bankrupt after the Chief Finance Officer had altered the books and made off with millions in yen. Even though he and three of his co-workers were the ones to collect the evidence to catch and convicted the former CFO none of them were ever able to find jobs again. No one would believe they had not been part of the fraud.  
  
Akihito knew that Kei was looking for a book keeper for one of Asami's clubs. The man had mentioned that he'd been unable to find anyone through the last six interviews. When Aki learned of the homeless man's skills he'd taken it upon himself to get the man the bookkeeping job. Kei had barely been able to ask any questions and had frankly given the man the week of probationary trial only to get the boy and what Kirishima referred as his pet project out of his office.  
  
Kei had been pleased when the man had found the suspected inconsistencies left by the previous bookkeeper. Not only have the man found them but he'd tracked the issues to their sources and presented Kei with a plan to correct the accounting errors as well as fix the inventory issues causing the club to lose money. Something the accounting errors were effectively hiding. Kei was already making plans on moving the man to an auditor position once a full time bookkeeper they could trust was found for the club. Though, Asami's secretary already had the man reviewing the books of several other clubs.  
  
So no the issue wasn't that Akihito didn't believe good things happened to people, no, he just didn't believe they could, would, and worst should happen to him. Like attention Aki felt he didn't deserve good things; the boy's severe low self-esteem would possibly come across as false modesty had he ever voiced the feeling aloud.  
  
He looked down at his wrist and the message Aibi-sensei had sent as they'd left her house. After expressing humor at the boy's reluctance, even though Asami had warned her, she promised to provide him with a long list of advertising shots that would require the extensive set of cameras and lens among the other equipment that she'd instructed Suoh to have purchased. He still wasn't certain how he'd get Akihito to use the equipment when he was working with Aibi-sensei.  
  
"Um, Asami?" Akihito's questioning voice pulled Asami from his musing. He looked up as the boy asked, "Why are we headed towards Saitama?"  
  
"Because that is the direction we have to travel to reach Higashimurayama," Asami settled back into the leather of the limo seat wrapped his arm about Aki's waist and pulled the boy to sit next to him.  
  
Akihito tried to shift away from Asami squirming to free himself from the arm about him. The action was reflexive though and there was only curiosity in his voice when he asked, "What is in Higashimurayama?" His gaze caught on Asami's wrist computer and the text it displayed almost caused him to miss Asami's reply.  
  
"The Yakyu Inari Shrine, I want to introduce you to the kannushi." Asami leaned down and breathed in Akihito's scent. He still hadn't forgotten the terror on Aki's face when the boy had looked at the bombed out German castle nor his shaking confession of knowing the place. Asami also noticed that regardless of the distractions provided since, the boy's normal prickliness was subdued. Even his attempt to wriggle free of Asami's grip on his waist seemed more habitual than intentional.  
  
Aki really wasn't honest with his feelings, though he was almost naively honest with Asami about everything else. Aki didn't lie. If he didn't want to tell you something he would just avoid the topic or refuse to discuss it. If questioned directly he would provide only the information required to answer without elaboration though even then he'd avoid looking directly at you.  
  
It was one of the reasons he'd not yet cornered Akihito about his and Kaida's pasts. Partially, Asami was worried what he'd learn. It was clear from the way Kaida spoke of them and the respect Akihito paid to their love for his sister that the Takabas had not played any part in turning the two children. Additionally since neither appeared to know the power they could wield nor ever seemed to consciously use it, Asami and Kirishima had decided it was because they were unaware they had it. They certainly didn't know what a Radiant was.  
  
This also led Kei and Asami to the same conclusion. Both had been turned before the Takabas adopted them, possibly many, many years before. Knowing what it took to create a Radiant combined with the possibility that Kaida and Akihito had probably been turn before being old enough to attend grade school only fueled Asami's inner rage. There shouldn't be Radiants to begin with. He had daydreams of what he would do to the people once he found them.  
  
It was Riki-hakese that warned him against probing directly. The younger Wind had pointed out that Akihito and Kaida were very well adjusted teenagers. Given what was required to make a Radiant he was pretty certain their current mental stability was due to neither of them having many, if any, memories of the events themselves. Akihito had admitted to not knowing where his fear of people in lab coats originated and Riki believed it was linked to the boy's if not also the girl's conversion.  
  
Unknowing Asami was mentally fighting the urge to break something Akihito leaned into the man's chest. He wanted a longer look at the message Aibi-sensei had sent the man. The smell of peaches floated about Asami's nostrils.  
  
It calmed his anger but another stronger feeling took its place. He glanced at the limo partition, it was raised. He reached around with his right arm, took Akihito by his hips, and hauled him into his lap.  
  
Aki squawked as Asami man handled him. Soon enough he found himself straddling the older man's hips with his feet. His toes were pressed into the back of the bench seat, his knees were bent and rested on either side of the man's chest, and his bottom was gripped by the man's hands as his pelvis was ground into Asami's growing erection. The man leaned down and kissed him.  
  
Aki kissed Asami back. It had been nearly two weeks since they'd signed the contract which to Aki's surprise had not contained one clause about sex. In truth, since they had been inturrped in the man's office several weeks ago, the man had not gone much past kissing him. Each encounter seemed to get closer to actual physical contact between their bodies. However, Asami always pulled back, often long before Aki was ready for him to do so.  
  
So, unless someone could possibly see them, when Asami seemed to snap and haul Aki in for deep kisses or a lingering message of his buttocks Aki rarely protested. Usually he'd only yelp if the man handling was unexpectedly rough, though Aki secretly admitted to himself he liked it when Asami overpowered him. It was the only acceptable way for him to enjoy Asami's attentions.  
  
He wasn't about to give the man any indication Akihito would allow the man to rule him. Aki heard the 'I take care of my things' and 'you belong to me' speeches enough when they argued to know that any centimeter Asami was given in their relationship would be giving the man a kilometer.  
  
The kiss slowed and when Asami pulled their lips apart a string of saliva still glimmered between them. Aki was panting as his tongue licked the string away. He was painfully hard behind his jeans and moaned when Asami picked him up and set him on the leather seat beside him, "Finish it you bastard."  
  
Asami chuckled, "Finish what, Akihito?" He leaned down and wiped the wetness from the boy's chin. "I told you what had to happen before I take you." He swiped his thumb across Akihito's bottom lip. "Are you offering what I want?"  
  
Aki jerked out of Asami's arms, "No! Bastard!" He shifted back onto his seat and looked out the window again, "Are you going to tell me why we're going to the Yakyu Inari Shrine in Higashimurayama?" Aki refused to look at Asami while he was attempting to will his erection away.  
  
"I did tell you, I want you to meet the kannushi." Asami fought internally with himself. He shouldn't have pulled the boy onto his lap. He was going to end up spending another night in cold showers. However, it did seem to have worked as a distractor for both his personal frustrations and Akihito's current gloom. The boy was back to glaring with pressed lips holding back the litany of names Asami was certain Akihito wished to call him.  
  
The glare was magnificent though. Akihito's eyes narrowed and his lids lowered until he was looking out from under them, "I was looking for the reason you want me to meet the kannushi." He huffed then, "You can be so irritating; you know what I was asking."  
  
Asami smirked at him, "Really? I'm not a mind reader, even if I do seem to know yours better than you do."  
  
Aki gnashed his teeth. He really, really wanted to call the bastard names. Yet, he also didn't, which was confusing. He glanced down at the watch again; Asami probably didn't think he could read upside down. In the message Aibi-sensei promised to send information on how to make requests of Akihito that would require the equipment she'd apparently instructed Asami to purchase for his use in the apprenticeship. She also reminded him that prickly Radiants were unusual and he should take care not to smother his in a Jō's need to protect.  
  
Jo was a title he'd heard Kirishima apply to the man. It along with council and a host of things that didn't make a lot of sense had been thrown at him and Kaida the first time they woke up in Asami's penthouse. He'd heard similar information sense. Asami was most insistent that he'd take care of any decisions the council members made about him a Kaida as well.  
  
Aki felt himself tense; he wasn't about to let others decide where and with whom he and Kaida spent their lives. He did a mental check on the money he'd been secretly stowing in a mobile account on his tablet. There should be enough for him and Kaida to get airbus tickets if needed. He mentally shook away his disappointment. It was going to be hard to have to ask Kaida to give up her dream again. That was the only reason for his regret; it had nothing to do with his thoughts about leaving Asami.  
  
Asami felt Akihito tense beside him. He looked down and frowned to find the boy was staring at the limo floorboard. "Akihito? I just want you to meet another member of the council." He turned and pulled Akihito's chin until the boy looked at him. "The meeting will be much less stressful if you meet as many of them as possible before I present you."  
  
Aki pulled from Asami's arms and backed across the seat until he was next to the opposite door, "I don't know why. I've told you we don't need to meet this council. Kaida and I are perfectly capable of making our own decisions."  
  
"I believe I told you that the council will not be making decisions for you. They will only provide you with the appropriate guidance. I have to present you; it is part of our laws." Asami shook his head; they'd had this same conversation just two days ago when Kirishima had brought the traditional Kimonos over to be fitted. Akihito had been belligerent the entire fitting and after the seamstresses and tailors had left he'd been just short of insulting with his comments about pomp and circumstance.  
  
"You and Kirishima-san used very subtle words but I haven't forgotten Megane-san's lecture about your council the first day we met. I'm so dumb that I don't know you've told him to stop bringing up the 'bonding', whatever that is, your council is supposed to be deciding." Aki squeezed his eyes shut; he wasn't about to let his disappointment that Asami was apparently perfectly ok with him and Kaida leaving as long as it was his precious council that made the choice.  
  
This is why I don't want Kaida attached to them, he thought. They'd probably try to split them; the orphanage had. He still remembered the old woman that ran the place saying that one of them would be hard enough to raise, he wasn't certain why two of them would be so much harder than one. Yet, the woman had tried to talk the Takabas out of adopting both of them several times. He still thought that had Kaida not refused to even meet the two potential parents without him he might have lost her that day.  
  
Asami sighed; it was clear from Akihito's face that the boy was thinking foolish thoughts and coming to ridiculous assumptions. Knowing what he did about Akihito it still surprised him that the boy always came to the worst conclusion. He wasn't positive what the boy was thinking but he figured it had something to do with decision he felt the council would make. "Akihito, I know you don't understand what all of this is about. That is one of the reasons I want you to meet with Taimukiipaa Chimon-sensei. He's been in charge of our histories for longer than I can remember and he is eager to meet a young Radiant."  
  
"Why do you, Kirishima, Suoh, even Aibi-sensei keep calling me that?" Akihito threw his hands out waving them about the small space between them. "I don't know what that is or why you'd think Kaida and I are some." He crossed his arms again and glared at Asami, "We're not part of whatever this is you think we are and I'm not going to let you or anyone split us up."  
  
"I promised I would take care of you, remember. It happens to be in the contract we signed. To do that I need the council's support." Asami reached over and pulled on Akihito arms until he unwound them and allowed Asami to grasp his hands. "I know this doesn't make any sense to you. I promise that at some point it will. I only have your interests at heart." He gently squeezed Akihito's hands.  
  
Aki laughed, "I am almost positive that there is an angle in this for you." He pulled on his hands before saying bitterly, "I don't see what this council of yours has to do with you bedding me."  
  
Asami grinned as Akihito realized what he'd said. Asami watched as the pink rose from the boy's chest and up to his ears. He tugged on Akihito's arms until the boy was nearly back in his lap, "They have nothing to do with it. He released a hand and palmed Aki's crotch. The boy was simi-hard. "I could relieve this for you." He rocked his palm pressing against Akihito's length and took Akihito's lips with his own.  
  
Aki moaned and pressed himself against Asami's palm. He shook his head at the same time. "Nuhh, I…."  
  
Asami deepened the kiss cutting off whatever it was Akihito had been about to say. He rubbed the material beneath his hand. He had no intention of taking the boy in the back of the limo. Though, he'd given the idea serious thought. However, he intended their first time to be in his hidden bedroom. The location was equipped with not only a bed but numerous additional items he fully intended to utilize on his kitten once the boy surrendered.  
  
Asami raised his lips once Akihito's moans had been lost to breathlessness. The boy's eyes were blown wide and he shuddered as he drew in a breath. Asami lowered his lips again and whispered against Akihoto's swollen ones, "Have you made a decision; are you going to give me what I want?" he ran his palm down Aki's left arm barely ghosting along the boy's skin. "You know you want it, Akihito. Your mouth says one thing but I still remember how you looked in my office. It wasn't distaste in your yes."  
  
Aki took another shuddering breath. He closed his eyes and clamped his lips shut. He'd have plugged his ears also but Asami had gotten both wrists captured. The man's voice was erotic as he moved his lips to Aki's left ear, "I only use the softest. Just imagine them wrapped around your torso and legs causing their silky touch to press into your skin." Asami licked his ear, "I'd use pretty blue ones on your wrists and chest. The same color as your eyes. It makes me hard thinking of you all trussed up waiting for my touch." He slowly drug his hand off Akihito's crotch causing Aki to groan and his hips to try and follow after, "Oh, no little kitten, you know what you have to do for this to go farther."  
  
Aki almost nodded, but he knew that wouldn't get him what he wanted. No regardless of how eager he was Asami had told him what he'd have to do. He regretted walking into Asami's office that night without knocking. He didn't even remember what he'd been angry with the ma about all these weeks later. He did remember the images up on the blank wall behind Asami's desk however.  
  
The man had been reviewing proposals for a new night club. One of the proposals had been for it to be an S &M club another for it to cater to Oyakata of Kinbaku-bi, what non-Japanese called Shibari. Aki had stormed into the office and made it halfway across the room before he'd seen the images. Several men and women in various states of dress were bound with ropes. There had been pictures of leather and steel bound individuals as well. Akihito had looked at them as well, but his eyes had lingered on one of a young man. The individual couldn't have been much older than Aki. He was completely nude though arranged in such a way that nothing embarrassing was exposed. He knelt on white fleece bound in bright red rope.  
  
They had wound about his torso in perpendicular lines with intract knots tied so they made a decorative slanted pattern down his chest. Similar ropes bounds his thighs to his lower legs forcing him to kneel. There were ropes wrapped around his lower arms keeping them tight as he held his own elbows in his palms. His body has been poised facing to the left with his torso twisted so that the ropes along his chest could be seen.  
  
It had been the look in his eyes that had prevented Akihito from turning away though. The young man had been staring at someone beyond the camera. His gaze had been filled with lust but it was the overwhelming look of trust the young man was giving the person off screen that truly captured Aki's interest. He still wondered if he'd ever trust anyone that much.  
  
Asami of course had noted Aki's interest. He'd come around the desk and wrapped his arms about Akihito whispering into his ear. "You know true masters of Kinbaku-bi only practice on the willing. It makes the experience for both much more fulfilling."  
  
Aki had turned and snipped in embarrassment he'd been caught looking, "I supposed that means you're no master."  
  
Asami had paused then shrugged, "I will admit that some of my partners were less than enthusiastic. However, I can promise you the ones that surrendered willingly were never disappointed." He'd clicked the tablet off at that point, "That you for helping me make a decision though. I think I'll save the true S&M for a better location. The Kinbaku-bi will fit quite nicely in Ginza as long as I can find true Nawashi to participate."  
  
Aki had frowned but let the location he'd mentioned go. Instead he'd turned to leave. Asami had grasped his arm and pulled him into a kiss. Akihito having resigned himself to the fact sex was part of the deal for Kaida's education had attempted to relax into the kiss. He hadn't meant to flinch when Asami grasped the back of his neck. To date he couldn't explain why he had.  
  
Asami however had pulled from the kiss and just looked at him. Akihito hadn't been able to meet the man's eyes as he said, "I told you I wouldn't fight."  
  
The man had just shook his head and taken Aki by the hand. Asami took Akihito across the penthouse and into his bedroom. After closing the hallway door he'd released Aki's hand and turned to look at him again, "There is a big difference between choosing not to fight your partner, Akihito and trusting him."  
  
"So? Its not like you won't be getting what you're after. Why does it matter, if I 'trust' you or not?" Aki had crossed his arms and refused to look anywhere but the floor after those questions.  
  
"Well for starters you'd enjoy it a lot more." Aki had snapped his head up to stare at Asami then. The man had laughed, "I should be offended you'd think I'd have sex with you and not ensure you'd enjoy it."  
  
"But, why?" Aki had searched Asami's face but nothing provided an explanation.  
  
Asami had frowned again and reached out to brush a thumb along Akihito's bottom lip before saying, "The answer to that lies in you trusting me." He opened a drawer in the wall then and pulled out two soft linen ropes. "So this is what is going to happen. Until you bring these back to me we won't share anything more than kisses and groping."  
  
Aki had taken the ropes unconisouly while asking, "What do you mean? I don't want you tying me up. If this is for real you'll never bed me." He'd shaken the rope at Asami and then attempted to give it back.  
  
Asami had backed away, "If you giuve it back to me I will take you Akihito." He'd then come close and spoke directly into Aki's ear, "I will use the ropes in your hands to tie you up with knots, bend you into the position I want you and then fuck you into unconsciousness." He'd stroked Aki's arem then ending with, "Is that what you want, Akihito? To be completely at my mercy; to know that you were trussed up for my pleasure; to trust that I would never bind you without thought to yours?"  
  
Aki still remembers backing away, fumbling for the door handle and fleeing out of the room. Asami's dark chuckle had followed him until he'd slammed his own bedroom door. The ropes were now hidden in the bottom draw of the small bedroom desk. One was bright white, but the other was the same blue as his eyes.  
  
The limo slowed to a stop and Asami released Akihito's hands, "Hum, looks like we're here." He kissed Akihito again, "Good thing you didn't have those ropes with you."  
  
Akihito took a sharp breath and glared at Asami before hissing, "In your dreams old man."  
  
As he push past Asami to exit the vehicle Asami breathed in his ear, "Oh, but I know they are in yours, Akihito."  
  
Aki, nearly tripped getting out of the limo. Only Asami's hand on his arm prevented him from taking a spill. He glared back into the limo at Asami who just smirked. It fueled Aki's irritation; so unlike when they were at Aibi-sensei's house Aki drug his feet and refused to even walk next to Asami as they approached the shrine. Unfortunately his actions appeared to do nothing more than make Asami chuckle and Suoh struggled to hide the grin trying to grace his usually stoic face.  
  
It was in this manner the three of them made their way past the entry posts and up some stairs. Aki paused to look over the plaques hanging in the Shrine's yard. The wood carved into balls, bats, and gloves. Each bearing some prayer that Oinari would bless their next tryout or game. Until he'd actually seen the evidence Akihito had not believed that the Yakyu Inari Shrine really had earned its nickname as the Baseball Shrine.  
  
Asami and Suoh has moved on to the temple doors. When Aki looked to them it was to see two shrine maidens bowing to Asami and Suoh. He quickly caught up as the two Miko gestured the men through the open doors.  
  
Imediately inside the doors was a large Torii guarded on either side by six tailed white foxes. There were five swirling comet like symbols on their foreheads. Each was a different color, one the traditional red. The other however were blue, green, grey, and gold. Typically the symbol was group in threes and all red. This adornment was unusual enough that Aki paused to stare.  
  
Asami stopped when he realized Akihito had paused to stare at the kitsune statues. He was certain he knew what the boy could see. It made Asami smile. Only his people and fully turned humans could see past the glamour on the foxes. However Asami didn't want the boy to be anything more than curious at this time. He walked back to Akihito and grasped a hand, "Come, Taimukiipaa Chimon-sensei is waiting."  
  
Akihito looked at Asami and then thought to ask about the unusual symbols on the foxes heads. He looked back only to see the normal setting of three. He nearly stumbled as he turned back to Asmai's back. He would have sworn one of the foxes winked at him.  
  
Akihito held his tongue as they traversed the buildings. First it was a confusing set of twists and turns into and out of small buildings, down narrow alley like paths, and across wide courtyards. Secondly Aki was trying to figure out what was wrong with his eyesight. He kept seeing foxes everywhere. He'd finally decided he was seeing things when they slowed and stopped in front of a small building with a wide front porch. It was covered in foxes. Small yellow kits, medium sized red furred adults, and graying elders lounged, slept, and played along the bamboo boards.  
  
At first Akihito thought he must have heat stroke or some other malady that caused people to see things. After all there was no way there were this many wild foxes in one place. The Asami bowed to the oldest, grayest fox. It was lying across the entrance to the building. Unless it moved they would have to step over it to reach the inside of the building. Asami spoke lowly to creature which Aki would swear later nodded its head before rising and allowing them to pass.  
  
The Miko did not follow them into the small structure and Aki watched as the fox stretched itself out in front of the door as Asami slid an interior paper screen aside to reveal a large tatami room. In the center of the far wall was a long low table. Behind it in a legless chair sat possibly the oldest person Akihito had ever seen. Across from him were three other legless chairs. Two slightly behind the one pulled directly across from the man.  
  
Asami paused at the door until the man looked up and rose. His face was small and wizened, while hair covered his scalp and a wide goatee hung from his chin under his mustached lips. His eyes were so dark they were almost black. He dressed simply, in dark grey blue Jinbei with long pants and sleeves. He rose slowly; however, he stood straight and walked with sure steps. It was only once he reached them that Akihito realized the old man was easily twenty centimeters shorter than he was.  
  
Asami and Suoh bowed to the man and Aki followed suit. The man then reached out and took Aki's hands in his and smiled. He didn't say anything but pulled on Aki until Akihito followed. The old man pushed Aki into the seat directly in front of the table. Aki heard more than saw Asami and Suoh sit behind him.  
  
The little old man went back around the table and sat himself, before saying, "I understand from Asami-sama that you do not know what Radiants are?"  
  



	5. Dinner For Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some action for characters that aren't Ryuichi and Akihito. 
> 
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction. Use of any original character in this work is freely granted, please just don't forget me.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------

It was good there was no moon. The old docks were quiet and this time he'd had several of his own men double check the drop location. There would be no missing merchandise this time around. Suho nodded to the men carting the crates into the filthy warehouse. He'd checked the shipment before they started unloading the autonomous delivery van. The things were ridiculously easy to hijack and as long as the truck arrived to its recorded destination in time none would be the wiser.  
  
His team was quick; timing being everything in these jobs. They had the rerouted truck unloaded of cargo and reloaded with sand filled crates in less than ten minutes. The truck was sent on its way with only the revival of its transponder remaining for the switch to be completed.  
  
Sudo smiled, the Civil Defense Force wouldn't know they'd lost the twelve crates of weapons until the truck arrived at its destination in six days. The random transponder blackouts would be blamed on old equipment and by the time anyone thought to connect the fourth one with the missing cargo both he and his buyers would be long gone.  
  
He looked out across Tokyo Bay and wondered why the city had ever brought goods through the place. It was cold even in the June heat and the place had been worn out long before the invention of sub atmospheric shipping. He regarded the buildings, now the shipping yard was in such disrepair that not even street rats would spend time near it. It made him wonder just how anyone found the location the last time he'd used it.  
  
He broke away from his musing when a limo and a second van arrived. Sudo plastered a smile across his face and bowed to the large golden haired blonde that stepped from the back of the vehicle. "Welcome, Master Vürste, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."  
  
The man just nodded and stepped out of the way for a second person to join him. The other man was taller than even Vürste. Though both were broad and muscular the hair on the second man's head was nearly silver though he bore no wrinkles that would age him. In truth he seemed hardly older than Sudo. He refused to look at Sudo however and made no comments as the former host turned club manager led them into the warehouse.  
  
Sudo stood by as Vürste's men inspected the goods. At one point the unnamed man next to the German lord was handed one of the mining lasers. He took several minutes to look it over before handing it back and nodding to Vürste, only after that did the German signal his men to load their transport van. Finally Vürste turned to Sudo, "I see that you can come through when properly motivated."  
  
Sudo hid his grimace behind another smile, "I have always fulfilled our contracts Master Vürste. While I regret the loss of your oranges even you must understand that I can only control so much. Had I been provide enough time…"  
  
"I am not interested in excuses, Shu." Sudo frowned at the familiarity, but Vürste seemed to either not notice or not care as he continued, "Now, about the shipment date of my larger item?"  
  
"I am afraid it will take longer than fifty days, sir" Sudo tried not to shiver at the displeased look Vürste gave him. He held his hands up placating, "Please understand, I have no control over the construction of parts. The Civil Defense Force has ordered an additional forty of the engines. Between the complex nature of the parts and a backlog in deliveries for the raw materials the plants have been back ordered for over a month."  
  
"Hum… it sounds like you don't want me to have one of your special engines Sudo." Vürste stepped closer to the host and loomed over him, "I don't like being denied."  
  
Sudo was slowly back up and denying the claims when Vürste's companion leaned over and whispered in the German's ear. Vürste smiled; Sudo wished he was anywhere but with the two men in the warehouse. The smile didn't inspire comfort.  
  
The man looked at Sudo then saying in Japanese, "When is the next shipment of engines going to the Civil Defense Force?"  
  
Sudo frowned, "I'm not positive but it will most likely be sometime near the end of September. Even then only if the refined ore shipments become regular again."  
  
Vürste frowned and looked back at his companion. The silver haired man looked lost in thought for several minutes before nodding. Vürste smiled and turned back to Sudo, "You will work with Aaron to find the best shipment to hijack. You will inform Aloysius once the plans are in place. He will come back and oversee the operation himself."  
  
Sudo shook his head, "I don't think that is a good Idea. It is much better if you allow for time to falsify the inspection of individual pieces and allow me to get it assembled after those pieces are smuggled out of the recycling area."  
  
"And how long will that plan take?" Aloysius questioned lowly. His voice was harsh and horse like the man had gargled with glass. It made Sudo shudder.  
  
"pp…pp..perhaps six months." He stuttered his reply under the silver man's gaze. He was suddenly terrified. Aaron's scared cheek always left him uneasy and Vürste dark presence alone caused Sudo to shudder once out from under it. This man Vürste called Aloysius though, truly frightened him. "I…I…I real….ly think it is a better idea." Sudo swallowed.  
  
"Plan both." The man said. "It is possible that security will be tighter on the actual engines as you've said. I want a working one and am willing to wait a little." He bore his gaze into Sudo then, "Understand though that I am not as patient or forgiving as your former boss. If I don't have a working engine by the end of the year you will wish it was Ryuichi Asami that caught you." He turned and walked out of the warehouse not even pausing to see if Vürste followed.  
  
Vürste laughed and clapped his hand on Sudo's shoulder, "Good job little man. You have passed the exam. Welcome to the team."  
  
Sudo shook his head, "What are you talking about? I work for Asami Ryuichi. Not you."  
  
Vürste's eyes went dark as two of his men grabbed Sudo's upper arms before ripping the bleached blonde's shirt from his chest. "Not any more little pet. You belong to Aloysius now." He reached out and placed his hand over Sudo's heart before he smiled.  
  
At first Sudo didn't recognize the smell of burning skin was his. Then as the pain hit his senses and he started to scream he heard Vürste laugh, "This is my favorite part."  
  
Kaida danced. The summer sun shone on her hair, bouncing across its strands and sending silver tinged beams across the wooden boards under her feet. The music from her Violin had been composed just the night before and like all of her pieces she'd risen early, dressed, and all but ran with her guards to the pavilion in Shinjuku Gyoen. In her mind no piece was complete until an audience had approved it.  
  
Kei had provided her with recording equipment, delivering it one Saturday while her brother was with Aibi-sensei. Aki didn't know about the special recording device hooked to an app on her tablet. She had no plans about telling him. He stressed about how much it cost for her to study and achieve her dream of being a famous musician. It was still irritating that her brother couldn't see Asami-san and Kei only wanted what was best for the two of them.  
  
She twirled on her bare toes before kicking her right leg high into the air. Her calf length layered cream and teal ribbon skirt flew out around her hips showing off the bright blue biking shorts she wore underneath. From the corner of her eye she saw Yasuo, one of her regular guards, push a young man back from the edge of the stage. She sighed internally; Kei was going to lecture her again.  
  
The impromptu show continued after she finished the new song. She would evaluate the crowd's response to the new material once she returned to the penthouse. Probably by taking the recording down to Kei's apartment so she could use the larger screens to compare the crowd's reactions to earlier recordings. She could cook the two of them lunch if he was not at Sion's office. She played several more songs; some earlier creations of her own which she'd deemed worthy enough to keep in her repertoire.  
  
She had taken a break and was downing one of the water bottles her guards had started carrying around with them. Kei had not been happy the first time she'd escaped to the park to play. She had come back sweating and dehydrated. Since then her security force always carried two cool packs filled with drinks. Kaida shook her head in mirth as she remembered his tirade. He'd ranted for nearly five minutes before she'd interrupted and calmly asked if he was through.  
  
What followed was her lecturing him. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Besides unlike Aki she fully intended to utilize the opportunity Asami-san was giving them. She didn't run off without her guards even stopping at their apartments to fetch them personally when she created unexpected plans to go out. She, unlike her brother, followed Riki-hakase's medical plan. She did the strengthen exercises their physio therapist had assigned daily. She didn't skim on food or the rather nasty nutritional supplements Kei provided for them nor had she once skipped cram school or any of her other lessons. So just what was his problem?  
  
When the man had finally said that the he felt her singing and dancing in the park was too dangerous she'd nearly pulled out her own hair. She'd crossed her arms and told him she'd not put up with two Akihitos. Her brother already over reacted to everything around her. Either Kei loosened up or he'd become Kirishima-san so fast his eyes would bleed. She'd stormed out of the penthouse after that refusing to stay even for his attempts at defending himself.  
  
The man's apology the next day though had been astounding. It had started with him bringing her the recording device followed by him accompanying her to the park himself. After she had played for most of the morning; he helped her back to the penthouse and waited while she'd showered and changed before taking her out to an outdoor concert near Tokyo tower. They had a picnic lunch.  
  
Kaida smiled at the memory. She handed her now empty bottle back to Shin, another of her regulars. She had six in total Yasuo, Shin, and Ohta her male guards along with Nara, Rini, & Cho her female guards made up a team which protected her whenever she wasn't inside the penthouse. Even then one was always stationed at the door except overnight when members of General Sion security would take over. Kaida had quickly become friends with the team leader Ohta-san. The young man was still always professional with her but her willingness to listen and follow instructions, unlike her brother, had gone a long way with ensuring the team didn't smother her.  
  
Unless there was a threat they pretty much remained shadows as she did as she liked. Though, perhaps it also helped that she didn't go running across the Tokyo roof tops randomly. That activity she left to her brother also. She chuckled as she thought about that. She sort of felt sorry for his guards. A light tap on her shoulder had her looking up into Cho's face, "Sorry to pull you from your thoughts Takaba-sama, but I promised Kirishima-sama that I would ensure you made it back to the penthouse for you finial fitting."  
  
Kaida smiled, "No bother, Cho-san, thank you for reminding me." She hopped up from the edge of the stage and looked around for her violin. She finally saw it packed in its blue leather case and carried by Ohta who was whispering into his ear piece. Kaida waved to some of the remaining audience members. They were regulars at the stage and she knew they came mostly to give their children a chance to run around the grassy areas nearby the bench seating surrounding the circular stage.  
  
Ohta nodded at her and walked just in front to her right leading them out of the park towards the wide electromagnetic road. Cho and Yasuo fell in behind her. They crossed the park passing the large area of swings and sand pits where noisy children ran and played. The parkour course was just past the tall gates that separated the outer park from the inner. She glanced at the course as they passed and paused. There were two young men running the course. Both laughing as they bounded over short walls, slid through narrow openings and shimmied up fake drain pipes.  
  
They were slightly taller than her brother. One was raven haired with dark brown eyes. He ran and jumped with the same abandon she'd seen Aki give the course. He was fast too. The other had bleached blonde hair evident by the brown roots near his scalp and he reminded her of someone though she couldn't place who. The blonde missed the leap to the top of a short wall and nearly slammed into the structure. She was impressed he was able to arch himself backwards away from the collision even if he still ended up on his behind. He was nearly as good as her brother.  
  
The ebony haired boy slid to a stop next to his friend and doubled over in laughter, "AHHHAHHAAAAHHH, Takato you missed!"  
  
The blonde stood up grousing, "Go ahead and make fun of me, Kou, but I'm going to beat that time." He pointed at the records board.  
  
Kaida glanced at the names on the board and realized her brother's was at the top. She'd known he'd beaten the previous record of seven minutes by more than half. It seems that record holder was the blonde.  
  
The raven, Kou, if she'd heard the name correctly frowned, "What does it matter?" The he smiled and laughed again, "Oh, I bet you know who it was. It was a girl wasn't it! He bent over in laughter again, "really Takato, you need to let that go! I know Harumi was smug about it but you don't even see her any more. Why do you take it out on every girl you meet?"  
  
"This has nothing to do with that and I don't know who beat my time." He glared at the board before saying, "But I'm going to get the top spot back. This is our park we've played here since we were kids."  
  
The raven shrugged, "Don't see what that has to do with parkour times." He looked at his wrist then jogged over to two backpacks leaning near the course's entrance, "Good luck though, I'm going to be late for lessons and the last thing I need is for your brother to have another reason to yell at me."  
  
The blonde followed after him, "Ani-san doesn't yell. I've never heard Kei so much as raise his voice." The raven laughed, "He doesn't have to. He just looks at me like I took the last sweet from the candy jar." The raven shivered, "I'd rather have Asami-sama mad at me."  
  
At those names Kaida approached. She smiled at the raven who blushed before poking the blonde in the arm. Once both were paying attention she asked, "You know Kirishimia Kei-san and Asami Ryuichi-sama?"  
  
Both young men looked at Kaida like she'd grown another head. Their mouths fell open and their eyes seemed to bug out. It was Cho that saved them. "Kou-sama, Takato-sama, I did not know you were back from Vietnam; how was the jungle?"  
  
The Raven broke into a grin and pulled a wire bound drawing tablet from his backpack, "Cho! It was awesome!" He started to open the tablet and flip through it. Kaida could see it was full of charcoal and pencil art. There were detailed images of fauna and wildlife. One was a full page color drawing of a waterfall. He had seemingly forgotten Kaida had even asked a question.  
  
The blonde however approached slowly stopping close enough to speak lowly, "You'll have to forgive him. He forgets everything else once someone gets him started on his art." The blonde held out his hand, "Kirishima Takato, a distant younger sibling to Kirishima Kei. You are?"  
  
Kaida shook the young man's hand but it was Ohta that answered, "Takato-sama this is Takaba Kaida-sama, Asami-sama's ward."  
  
Takato raised an eyebrow at that, "Ward? We weren't gone that long."  
  
"Six weeks, Takato-sama." Ohta replied, "You and Kou-sama spent two weeks in Veitnam, another in South Korea, then two in Northern India, before you came back and spent last week at your mother's home in Naha, Okinawa." The blonde grimaced at Ohta, "How do you know that?"  
  
"Your primary guard reported in last night to Suoh while I was being briefed on Asami-sama's wards schedules for today." He looked down at Kaida then, "We really should get going Kaida-sama, the dressers will be at the penthouse in an hour."  
  
Kaida nodded and took Takato's hand and again. As she shook it she said, "you should come by the penthouse for dinner. You'd get a change to meet the person that beat your time." She gestured to the sign.  
  
Takato gapped at her and clumsily tried to get out several questions at once, "What, I mean, who, where, Huh?" Kaida just smiled again and followed Ohta out of the park with Yasuo. Cho patted Kou's arm and followed soon after.  
  
An hour later found Kaida surrounded by six older women. All six wore grey blue houmongi kimono, black foxes played, hunted, and slept in the pattern across the seams in the back, flowing over the left shoulder, along the left the sleeve, as well as about the entire bottom hem. Their obi were simple hanhaba, grey on one side and navy on the other. The knot was simple but tied in such a way that Kaida, after the numerous hours spent being tutored by Kei on the subject, knew all six women were married.  
  
They stood in the Dressing room. It had white walls and darkly stained teak dressers, racks, and mirrors along with white marble flooring. The racks were full of clothing. Most were men's three piece suites and various tuxes. These lined the entire back wall. They were hung according to color from darkest to lightest. Though all the Tuxes were black the suites went from deep black to dark grey with a small selection of navy between. Along the floor on special shelves was the largest shoe collection Kaida had ever seen. There was literally one pair of shoes for every suit and tux each slightly different than the next.  
  
A tall, doored dresser stood at the far end of the room. The drawers were full of various colored dress socks to match the shoes and behind the doors was a wealth of ties. Every imaginable color was represented. There were patterns and colors that, until she'd lived here, she'd never seen. They were sorted by pattern and color onto eight specialty racks. There was an entire rack dedicated to just the butterfly motif.  
  
Hanging on the wall opposite Asami's clothes were two distinct sets for her and Aki. Her set was filled with patterns and colors. Various outfits both coordinated and not, hung above her own impressive set of shoes. Dresses, skirts, blouses, blue jeans, slacks, t-shirts, tank-tops, shorts, and sweaters all hung neatly around her own dresser of socks, hose, and scarves.  
  
Aki's side was the least used portion of the closet. In fact other than a dove grey suit with a rich indigo dress shirt and a silver and indigo diamond Foulard necktie which he hung as one piece, Aki had almost exclusively jeans. Several were ripped at the knees, shins, and along the bottom hem. The rest of his wardrobe was made of graphic t-shirts, patterned button ups and hoodies. While he had a large selection of shoes like she and Asami did Kaida knew he'd only worn one pair. The ones stored in the genkan getabako.  
  
It was for this reason her kimono pieces were hung with Akihito's clothes. Alongside her several pieces hung her brother's. He was also going to have his last fitting once he returned from Aibi-sensei's house that evening. So here she was alone in the dressing room with six women she'd only met once before.  
  
They had her remove all of her clothing, including her bra and panties. She would be wearing the outfit in the most traditional way. No modern undergarments and layered as it had been worn in long past eras. They started by helping her into the Susoyoke, a thin half-slip-like piece of underwear, and the Hadajuban, a thin garment similar to an undershirt. These were worn by women under the nagajuban, the inner most portion of the layers. Though traditionally white and made of light cotton, Kaida's nagajuban was made of soft grey linen embroidered with white cranes. It had a removable collar called a haneri in pure white with white crane feather needle work. The nagajuban was tied with a wide indigo datejime of cotton also embroidered with white cranes. It was the first of many belts she'd wear. Once done three of the women helped Kaida stand as the white tabi, split toed socks were slipped up her calves.  
  
Over the nagajuban the women paced an ofurisode kimono of pure white silk. The sleeves reach nearly to the ground and the garment was longer than Kaida expected. The oldest of the women dressing her said this was on purpose and Kaida watched as they tucked and folded the robe with the white koshihimo, also called a hip belt, specifically designed for the purpose.  
  
Then came the maru obi; it was also white silk subtlety embroidered with small wispy clouds. The wide silk sash wrapped several times about Kaida's waist before the women tied the obi into a fukura-suzume musubi knot spreading like sparrow wings across her back waist. They used a white silk obiage embroidered like the obi to cover the obi-makura a small pillow designed to keep the knot full. There was similarly covered obi-ita which were mostly stiff fabric covered plastic pieces used to keep the obi neat should she bend. A small obidome of silver and gold shaped like a many beamed sun was pinned to the center front before a woven cord obijime made of silver and gold was threaded through it and the obi knot. Silver and gold tassels hung from the obijime's ends.  
  
They slipped silver and gold brocade zori onto her feet. The thonged sandal-like shoes were raised by thick woven soles giving Kaida an additional fifteen centimeters in height. She was suddenly glad Kei had insisted she practice walking on tall platform shoes in the past couple of weeks.  
  
Next came the uchikake also made of white silk. It was embroidered with silver and gold needle work along the bottom hem. Tiny suns with shining beams were scattered across the bottom third of the garment. This piece would not be belted but worn open like a coat. The oldest woman dressing her informed her that this piece would not be added until immediately before she and Aki were presented to the council. The uchikake having a very long train and not needed for the actual weather they were currently experiencing that June.  
  
Last they had her sit on a stool and piled her hair on top of her head. They arranged it into a large bun around which they placed several kanzashi. One was a soft silk scarf of indigo blue and grey wrapped around the bun in layers. Next came a hair ornament made of silver and gold and shaped like a small sun. It rested to the left side of the bun and a fanciful person could imagine that it was rising out of an ocean. Then with a few last tucks and tugs the leader finally announced she was ready for inspection by Asami-sama.  
  
Kaida slowly made her way down the hall to the living room. Asami, Suoh, and Kirishima all sat on the leather couches sipping on some afternoon drink as they discussed whatever paperwork presented on their tablets. Asami and Suoh seemed oblivious to Kaida's entrance but Kirishima looked up as soon as she passed the hallway's end.  
  
He paled and silenced at her entrance and it was his lack of response to a question Asami asked that made the other two look in the direction he was staring. Asami smiled. The bonding between Jo and their mages was a lot like a marriage ceremony and while early on the formal kimonos worn were colorful and many patterned they'd quickly been changed out for the white versions during the Edo period to more closely match the shogunate's wishes. The loss of color had never been fully renounced.  
  
In modern times the formal attire for a bonding ceremony varied greatly from family to family though the practice of layering the clothing had remained. Kaida wore every recognized layer of the most formal Kimono recorded. Each layer was made of the most expensive fabric for its function and Asami had ordered real silver and gold be utilized for the embroidery and adornments. No one at the council meeting could fail to recognize his intentions regarding the girl.  
  
The layers, colors, and material were clear indications the Asami's intended to keep this Radiant while remaining inoffensive. Dressing her in his house colors would have done nothing but caused a ruckus. He couldn't wait to see Akihito in his attire.  
  
Kirishima stood and walked to Kaida. When he reached her he bowed and then held out his hand, "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. May I help you to a seat?"  
  
Kaida blushed, she felt it creep up her neck from her chest and climb her cheeks. The Kimono and its many layers of rich fabrics and needlework had made her feel special. It was the nicest clothing she'd ever worn. However Kei's simple statement made her breath catch and words refused to exit her mouth. She stood silently for several seconds before giving up and nodding her head as she lay her hand in his.  
  
Suoh smiled as Kei led Kaida around the long couch and to the shorter loveseat with its back to the short path from the genkan to the kitchen door. Since he and Asami were sharing the long couch it made sense to sit the girl there. However his smile increased when Kei slowly sat next to her still holding her hand. His friend had never looked so smitten.  
  
Kaida was inexplicitly shy. It was something she couldn't recall ever being before. Yet, Kei had kept hold of her hand as they sat and though she thoroughly enjoyed the warmth of his fingers she knew it wasn't socially acceptable for them to continue.  
  
The door buzzed twice, but before anyone could rise to answer the call it opened and young male voices rang from the genkan. "I'm telling you Takato, professor Kuraim is awesome. He's got this huge studio with views of nearly the whole city and every possible medium you can think of. He's even got a really old darkroom he keeps stocked for a friend. I can't believe he wants me to paint there!"  
  
"Kou, he's not taking you there paint, baka!" Kaida watched as the two young men from the park slipped off their shoes and came into the living area on socked feet. The raven was still animatedly talking about the wonders of his professor's studio having completely missed, or perhaps ignored, his blonde friend's warning.  
  
She heard Kei sigh before he pushed his glasses with his forefinger, even though they hadn't slid down, and open his mouth to lecture the two boys. "Otouto, what have I told…"  
  
The blonde didn't let him finish, instead the young man walked right up to Asami and after giving a short bow asked, "When did you get wards, Asami-sama?" Takato's voice wavered on the ‘sama' and Kaida realized that confident blonde she'd met in the park was intimidated by Asami.  
  
Asami held in a chuckle; which surprised him. First Takato's brashness usually rubbed him wrong. It wasn't that the young man was disrespectful; it was more his over blown curiosity often got himself and his friend Kou into trouble. That trouble usually ended up with Kei, Kazumi, or both of them having to spend time sorting things out. It thoroughly amused Kazumi a fellow Water like Takato. Waters being highly adaptable, changing to fit whatever the situation required. It completely stressed out Kei. Earths tended to be nearly inflexible. It was what made them steadfastly loyal to their Jō as well as making them excellent accountants, lawyers, and body guards. Earths desired order more than any other thing.  
  
Waters however were keen on rubbing most Earths the ‘wrong' way. They delighted in seeing what could be push, what could be pulled, and, worse to an Earth's mind, what could be changed. Many Jō saw them as wild and unpredictable never quite trusting their loyalty. Kazumi had followed Asami for so long though that Asami knew Waters were just as loyal as Earths. Their presence also prevented complacency. Since if left with the same routine too long they were liable to stir up trouble just for the sake of something new to do. It was the reason Takato had just dragged his best friend over large portions of south east Asia and India in the past six weeks.  
  
He shook his head saying, "You would have known weeks ago had you been attending classes like you were supposed to." He reached out and flicked the tablet to display a new screen, "It's a good thing that you have nearly perfect grades."  
  
Kaida watched as Kei rubbed his index finger up and down his nose. He sighed again before asking, "Takato, really, what prompted the surprise vacation this time?" He sounded resigned like he'd given up trying to lecture his brother about certain things.  
  
Takato turned and smiled, "Professor Lin showed us his vacation photos and I knew Kou would love to draw the place." He turned a flopped down into the single seat opposite Kaida and Kei, "I was right, too. You should see his pictures."  
  
The raven had stood mostly silently as Takato had talked. Kaida turned to look at him only to find he'd pulled out a piece of charcoal and was busy drawing in his sketchbook. Every once in a while he looked up at her. It took him several minutes, during which everyone was quiet, for him to notice that they were all looking at him. He blushed and stammered out, "Sorry, but she and Kei just looked so good together. I just had to draw them."  
  
Kaida blushed herself and glanced at Kei who was busy fussing with his glasses again. There was a very faint pink tinge to his cheeks. Suoh chuckled saying, "They are cute. Come around and show me your pictures from the trip. I spent a lot of time rushing guards and equipment to you guys. I'd like to see the fruits of my efforts."  
  
Hours later Kaida had been helped from her heavy outfit and returned to the living room in white cutoff jeans and one of her brother's graphic tees. The shirt was indigo with ‘Watch me move mountains' written across it in kanji. She really wanted one for herself, but since they'd not gone back to the shop she'd gotten it from for Aki she kept stealing his.  
  
Takato and Kou were playing a race car game on the halo-vid when she returned and from their mock tussling on the long couch it appeared to be something they did often. Kou looked up when she entered the room and smiled, "So, you're going to be presented to the council, huh?"  
  
Kaida nodded, "Yes, Asami-sama and Kei say we have to be presented so Asami can formally add us to his family." She sat in the single seater and curled her legs under her, "Are you family, Kou-san?"  
  
Kou looked at her in surprise, "Um, no, Asami-sama is my Jō."  
  
Kaida smiled, "I've heard Kei call him that. I don't really understand the whole Jō and Mage thing though." She looked at the floor, "Can you guys really cast magic?"  
  
Takato frowned, "Um, no magic. Just elemental manipulation. Well in Kou's case he manipulates how fast or slow atoms move. It gives him control over temperature."  
  
"Oh," Kiada leaned forward, "That would make you a kasai, fire control right?"  
  
Kou blushed, "yeah."  
  
Kaida had seen Kei use his powers. Though, he'd done it only after she'd pointedly told him she didn't believe him and that if he was going to tell fairytales he should find a child to entertain. It had been a couple of days after their picnic. When he was reviewing the protocols the council meeting had.  
  
He'd also reviewed why they were going to be presented. She'd heard all of it before. The day they had met as a matter of fact. He'd almost gotten mad when she'd accused him of making things up, but instead had taken her to Sion where he and Asami had demonstrated a chikyū's or earth's power.  
  
It had been fascinating and a little scary to watch Kei first bend a metal fork and then reduce it to small piles of round steel before further separating that into their elemental components of iron, nickel, and chromium as Kei had named them.  
  
She smiled at Kou's blush and asked, "Can you show me?"  
  
Kou's blush deepened, "I'm not all that good at it, but…." He picked up the glass of water in front of him and held it in his hand. The room became silent except for the game's music.  
  
Kaida watched as the water when from room temp to steaming to boiling in less than a minute. Kou cursed and dropped the glass back on the table top. It landed on its side spilling the still steaming water onto the marble floor. Takato jumped up and ran into the kitchen to fetch a towel.  
  
Kou shook his hand, "ow, ow, ow, ow." He blew on it and Kaida leaned over and saw how red it was.  
  
"I'm sorry! Let me get you some ice!" She jumped up only for Kou to reach out and stop her.  
  
"No! It is ok. See." He held his hand out and flexed his fingers. "It just hurt a little. Sorry about that. I was actually trying to freeze it." He hung his head, "I've never been any good at the manipulation. It's why my previous Jō released me."  
  
"That's why you need to practice more." Takato came out of the kitchen with a towel and ice handing it to the raven. "You know Asami-sama would prefer you to spend time on it every day."  
  
Kou took the iced towel, mumbled something, and hung his head. Takato pointed a finger at the floor and Kaida nearly squealed as the water rose like a snake and poured itself back into the glass.  
  
She looked up in wonder at Takato, "You must be a mizu since you can control water."  
  
Takato shrugged, "That is what we're called here in Japan yes. Though it is more complicated than just controlling water, with enough experience I can control any chemical compound that is typically a liquid at room temperature."  
  
Kaida frowned before asking, "Even Mercury? I thought that was a metal; my understanding from Kei was that chikyūs, earths, controlled metals."  
  
"Takato meant it when he said it was complicated." Kou looked up and replied. "He can control Mercury if he really worked at it or had more experience using his powers. However it is harder to work with than say a pan of cooking oil."  
  
"I don't understand, Kei said each of the mages could control portions of the periodic table of elements and that was what made them so powerful." Kaida lean forward, "I know there are only two elements that are typically liquid at room temp so why would cooking oil a complex compound be easier than pure Mercury?"  
  
"Because, Mizu like to mould things. We have a tendency to try and shape things, places, and people, even ourselves. We work better with groups where we can fit ourselves and fill unfulfilled roles." Takato picked up the glass. "Waters tend to take on the aspects of what surrounds them, like this glass." He looked at Kaida and grinned, "We like to be part of groups because of that. Don't be fooled into thinking we're all just followers though. Remember that streams and rivers are made of water too, when forced we'll carve our own path."  
  
Kaida thought about that for a few seconds, "Makes sense. That must be why you want to beat my brother's record on the parkour course. You still need to carve your own path." She smiled when Takato looked away with a blush.  
  
She looked back at Kou, "So if Waters are adaptable but independent, what about Fires?"  
  
Takato looked back at her then at Kou, "Kasai can be fiercely independent but they long for inclusion. They are bringers of warmth and passion and creators of music and art. Fires control the heat of the universe and it is that heat which is required to build everything else. It is said there is only one other Mage type closer to being suns than Fires."  
  
"Oh" Kaida was about to question what mage that was when Takato continued.  
  
"Some Kasai are like raging wildfires and burn brightly but swiftly in their passions. Others are like campfires burning small but consistently as long as their passion is fed." He patted Kou's arm, "Stop thinking about your previous Jō. The man was an ass."  
  
Kou looked at Takato, "Thanks, but it is hard not to. Especially when I still can't control my power." Kou glanced at Kaida and saw her confusion. "My previous Jō was my grandfather. I've never been able to control the fire as well as he wants. He said he had no use for a Kasai that couldn't even set paper ablaze. Then there was the accident."  
  
"That's why Asami-sama took you in silly. Your grandfather should have known better. He tried forcing your control to fast," Takato hugged the raven, "You could have died."  
  
"What happened?" Kaida asked softly as she reached out and took one of Kou's hands. "Are you ok?"  
  
Kou looked at her with a small smile, "I think I will be." Then he took a deep breath. "Fires are volatile, and some of us can accidently set things on fire without meaning to. I used to do it all the time when I'd get excited or scared. Often we require a lot of practice and a strong Jō to help us keep our power from overwhelming us. My grandfather wanted a strong Kasai; one able to burn his enemies as he saw fit. All I ever wanted was to draw and paint."  
  
He looked out of the tall living room windows and sighed, "My grandfather and Asami-sama were business partners until about a year ago. They were both heavily invested in making parts for the new FTL engines Japan has created. Grandfather wanted more of the share of profits and set up a meeting between them. He brought me along."  
  
"I didn't want to go. I was supposed to be in art class, but my grandfather insisted. We met with Asami-sama at one of the plant warehouses. Asami thought that grandfather had concerns with the quality inspections and came only with Kei-san to the meeting. I didn't even know what my grandfather had planned."  
  
Kou took a deep breath and squeezed Takato's hand, "They met in the quality control office but Asami didn't even get a chance to ask what grandfather thought was wrong before grandfather started pulling out my powers."  
  
Takato interrupted and answered the unspoken question on Kaida's face, "Jō can exert control over the powers of their bonded mages. In return the bonded mages have a conduit through which over flows can be directed. This is important since it is the Jō's job to ensure his or her mages don't overflow with power and lose control thus causing harm to themselves or others."  
  
"Yes, well, my grandfather didn't care about that." Kou continued. "He pulled on my power, which as I demonstrated I don't control very well, and attempted to set both Asami and Kei on fire." He closed his eyes, "It obviously didn't work. However, grandfather did catch fire; I tried to control the flames but everything I tried just made them hotter. Asami initiated a bonding and I needed help so didn't resist. Apparently the one between my grandfather and I was almost nonexistent."  
  
Takato took up the story then, giving Kou's shoulder a squeeze before speaking, "I wasn't there, but Kei said as soon as the bond took Asami was able to put out the fire. Kou's grandfather survived but was forced by the council to release all of his mages into other Jō's care. Asami kept his bond with Kou once he realized we knew each other."  
  
Kou smiled and there was reverence in his voice as he said, "I haven't set a single thing on fire by accident since."  
  
Kaida smiled then. She wished Aki had been there to hear the story. He needed to know that Asami wasn't just looking to get into his pants, Aki's only firm belief.  
  
The man she was thinking about walked back into the penthouse. Kirishima and Suoh followed behind him. The three men paused as they took off their shoes to slip on their uwabaki. Their slippers were black unlike her's and Aki's which were blue. Asami frowned at Kou and Takato, "Are the two of you supposed to be in class?"  
  
Kou bowed before saying, "No, sir. It's Saturday. Takato doesn't have any classes on the weekend and I'm done for the day."  
  
"Yeah, we thought we'd take advantage of you guys being at the office to use your updated halo-vid for Mario-Kart." Takato said as he picked up the glass of water again. "Then Takaba-san joined us and we've just been talking."  
  
"Kaida, please," Kaida said. "I'd rather people use my personal name. I wasn't a Takaba very long."  
  
Takato glanced at his brother before smiling and saying, "Sure, Kaida, and you can call me Takato." He held out his hand again, "It has been a pleasure to meet you."  
  
Kou chimed in then, "No honorifics for me either. All my other friends just call me Kou."  
  
Kaida beamed and shook Takato's hand, "Friends."  
  
Kirishima's voice sounded over both Kou's and Takato's chuckles, "Kaida, would you like to have dinner at my place?"  
  
Kaida glanced at Kei; while his question had left open the option for her to refuse, his tone had not. She hadn't heard that tone since he'd lectured her about performing in the park. She successfully fought crossing her arms. However, she couldn't keep her irritation out of her voice as she responded, "Certainly, Kirishima-san, I'd love to have dinner with you."  
  
Kei frowned at her; she just frowned back. Takato found the entire exchange funny and patted Kaida's shoulder before laughing out, "Oh, you will do just fine, Kaida, just fine." He turned and grabbed Kou's arm and pulled the raven over to the door asking at he went, "Asami-sama, can we use the practice room? Kou boiled water instead of freezing it earlier. He nearly burned his hand."  
  
Asami nodded glad for the distraction from the look on his best friend's face. It wouldn't do to laugh at the man that controlled his daily schedule, "Of course." He turned to Suoh saying, "You'll supervise."  
  
Suoh was equally glad of the distraction. He found the glaring contest Kaida was having with Kei far funnier than he should. "Certainly. Come on boys." He slipped his black loafers back on and led the two young men out of the penthouse.  
  
Asami took his brief case from Kei and headed towards his office, "I'll let Akihito know where you are for dinner, Kaida."  
  
She smiled as she rose from the single seat saying, "Thank you Asami-san." She didn't watch him leave the living area; instead she crossed it and stood in front of Kirishima. Her glare returned as she said, "Shall we go, Kirishima-san?"  
  
Kei slowly nodded his head. He knew in his rational mind that he was completely over reacting to Kaida telling his brother and Kou they could user her name with no honorifics. However his rational mind wasn't the one yelling at him. It had taken repeated recitations of the Sion accounting books to keep from crossing the room and ripping Takato's arm off when the boy had patted her shoulder. No his rational mind was apparently on vacation.  
  
Kaida led the way out of the penthouse, down the elevator, and then to Kei's apartment door. His luxury apartment took up one full half of the sixty-ninth floor. His front entry was directly across from the only other apartment on the floor Suoh's.  
  
Kaida had been to his apartment one other time. He had invited her down to visit his extensive print library the day after she had been examined by Riki-hakase. He'd carried her then, since she was ill and weak, and at no time during that visit had he entertained any ideas other than enjoying her presence in his home.  
  
He had taken great delight in making her a healthy vegetable soup as she sat in the largest room pursing the shelves of books from all over the world. They had eaten the soup and spent the afternoon talking about literature. Kaida was surprisingly knowledgeable about the subject when it came to modern Japanese and American authors. The afternoon had been one of the most enjoyable he could remember.  
  
This time Kaida made her way to his apartment under her own power. Kei watched her hips sway with angry steps. The way her hair swung and her arms swished left no doubt in Kei's mind he would be hearing an earful once they reached his living room.  
  
Kaida paused at his door and pressed her left ring finger to the bio scanner. Kei nearly tripped as he watched her. A flood of possessiveness nearly overwhelming his normal reserve. She was the only person other than himself that was imprinted in his security with that finger. Asami and Akihito were the only two that used that finger for Asami's door. Neither teen knew the significance of the set up.  
  
He followed Kaida into his home. She slipped out of the canvas flats she'd donned to come down in and slipped on the soft white slippers Kei had gotten for her after her first visit.  
  
Kaida paused at the end of genkan and took a slow look around the apartment. She'd only been to the place once and since she hadn't walked herself she'd been unable to really investigate the space.  
  
The first thing she noticed this time was that unlike Asami's penthouse with walls and hallways splitting up the space; Kei's apartment was almost completely open. The genkan was only differentiated by its lower floor and tile covering from the rest of the primary room. From the genkan you had to step up about fifteen centimeters where one would leave the grey stoned genkan flooring and nearly sink into very dark grey carpeting.  
  
The carpet wrapped around the center of the room where there was a lowered living space. Set into the floor by the same fifteen centimeters as the genkan. Its grey stone flooring was covered with twelve traditional looking tatami mats woven from soft biodegradable plastics. On the mats sat eight legless, indigo padded chairs around a low teak table all facing a halo-vid station. Along the far wall from the entry were floor to ceiling windows overlooking the surrounding Tokyo area.  
  
To the left the carpet gave way to nearly black marble tiles in the dining area. A small, square, white table for six, with matching chairs, sat there under a plethora of tiny white pin lights.  
  
The kitchen was directly past the halo-vid stand. It had the same flooring as the dining area along with black granite counter tops and stainless steel cabinets and appliances. The kitchen had one small walled off area with an etched glass door proclaiming it to be a pantry. The dining room also had one solid door which Kaida remembered Kei saying went into the combined dressing room and laundry.  
  
To the right of the living space was a long wall upon which hung several oil paintings and a broken cello. The body of the bass violin was cracked, the stings twisted, and its bow broken in half. The f-holes in the body were stuffed with incomplete music sheets.  
  
Just past this wall was a short hallway. Kaida knew from her last visit that the line of windows visible from the genkan stretched along the entire far wall only to be broken by the sliding glass door that led to the apartment's balcony. The hallway also had only three doors. The first was the library. It was a room larger than the combined sunken living room, kitchen, and dining room. Next to that was a toilet room, beyond which was the only bedroom the apartment contained. The bathing room was connected to the bedroom according to Kei's description given the last time she had visited.  
  
The space was completely free of clutter and everything was precisely placed. There was exactly twelve centimeters between the legless chairs in the living room. The placemats on the dining table were exactly two and half centimeters from the edge of the table as well as being exactly five centimeters apart. The canisters on the kitchen counter were arranged larges to smallest and exactly three centimeters apart.  
  
The glass windows were perfectly clean providing a clear view of Tokyo's Shinjuku district. Kaida barely resisted the angry urge to walk across the room and place both palms against the clear glass. Instead she all but stomped across the soft carpet and down into the sunken living room. She sat cross legged in one of the chairs facing the entryway, crossed her arms, and glared at Kei. "Just what is up with you?"  
  
Kei crossed into the living room and sat across from her. He noted her crossed arms and sighed internally. This was not going to be a rational discussion about how she was supposed to behave. In fact he was pretty certain he should avoid telling her the real reason he had sounded so irritated upstairs. "I'm not certain what you are referring to, Kaida. I merely wish make you dinner."  
  
"Kuso!" She stood, crossed the space dividing them and pointed a finger at him, "Stop bullshitting me, Kei. You are angry about something. I'm not even going to entertain eating until you tell me why you went all alpha male on me."  
  
Kei snapped, stood and hauled her into his arms before furiously whispering, "You're mine! Yet you spend all your time getting others to watch you. Complete strangers spend more time with you on your days off from school than I do. Then the first day I can arrange to come back here early I find you flirting with my half-brother!"  
  
He went to kiss her but found his lips blocked by a pair of small hands. Kei focused on her face as she whispered back, "I. Am. Not. A. Possession." She then jerked out of his arms as her voice rose, "and I wasn't flirting." She crossed the room leaving the sunken area to glare out of the tall windows.  
  
Kei ran a hand through his hair before sighing aloud, "I don't think you're a possession, Kaida. You are mine though. You said you were willing to explore what we've been feeling."  
  
She turned and stared at him, "Yes, but…. We haven't, have we?" Kaida turned back to the skyline then before whispering, "I was just trying to make friends."  
  
"I can't help wanting to monopolize you. It is hard enough watching you with your instructors and how you interact with your audiences. You are so open and giving with your emotions. Seeing you act that way with Takato was too much." Kirishima rushed the words out knowing that he wouldn't say them at all if he thought about them.  
  
He watched her shake her head and cross her arms again. Her brother warned him that once she took that stance arguing was nearly pointless. He took a deep breath and ruthlessly stomped on his desire to yank her back into his arms. His desire to imprint himself upon her would have to be fulfilled at another time. He wasn't stupid, Kaida might trust easily but it only meant that if broken it could never be repaired.  
  
"Kaida, please look at me." Kei waited only releasing his held breath once she turned back to him. Her arms were still crossed but they trembled. Her fingers clasped an unclasped her elbows rhythmically. He took that as a softening of her anger.  
  
He crossed the sunken portion of the room slowly and stood on the lower floor so she had less height to look up at. Even then he nearly towered over her being over forty centimeters taller than her when on even ground. He reached out and took her hands. Kaida allowed him to uncross her arms as he said, "I can't apologize for being possessive. It is the only thing I have to hold onto until the Council approves Ryuichi bonding with you."  
  
Kaida frowned up at him, "I don't belong to this Council of yours either, Kei. They aren't going to dictate who I spend my life with any more than you or Asami-sama will." She tried to pull her hands free but Kirishima just tightened his hold. "I've stayed because I want to know what this feeling is between us, but I won't be held captive. Aki and I have escaped worse."  
  
Kei relaxed his hold, "I know. Neither Asami or I would hold you or your brother by force."  
  
She shook her head, "No, the two of you just ensure that I have more than Aki could ever provide on his own. The two of you just ensure that you surround me with cotton so I don't get harmed, stuff me with food so I am never hungry, fill the closets with clothing so I am never cold, and essentially fulfill every dream my brother has ever had for me." She smiled then, "Your prison may not be made of concrete and steel Kei, but it is a prison. Be honest, at least with yourself. If Aki or I really tried to escape, you and Asami would send out your entire security force to find and bring us back."  
  
Kirishima really wanted to lie; he even opened his mouth to vehemently deny her assertions. However, she was correct. He'd suspected for a while that she knew. So he didn't lie. He did however clarify their reasoning, "I just want to protect you. You still don't understand what you are or what could happen to you."  
  
"Because neither you nor Asami will explain it! Don't think I haven't noticed you've given Aki more information than you've given me, either." She did pull her hands free when she tugged this time. "I am not a child I can take whatever it is you haven't shared with me."  
  
Kaida wrapped her arms about Kei's waist, "Even the idea that the power you claim I wield could go out of my control and hurt me."  
  
Kei looked down in shock, "Who told you that?"  
  
"Takato and Kou. I was trying to learn what they were since both were so comfortable in Asami-sams' penthouse. I know he doesn't like strangers there so their ability to come and go freely meant they were either close friends or bonded to him and I couldn't see Asami-sama being their friends."  
  
Kei signed while wrapping his arms about the small woman. "I should have kept you away from their big mouths."  
  
Kaida chuckled, "I want to be their friends. If Aki and I choose to stay after this Council meeting of yours, it would be nice to have friends."  
  
Kei tightened his arms when she mentioned choosing to stay or not. He tried to relax before she noticed but Kaida lightly smacked his back, "Aki and I have escaped prisons before, Kei." She looked up at him, "Maybe not ones as nice as this but we've done it. No one has ever been able to keep Aki trapped for long."  
  
Kirishima sighed, "And I know he'd take you with him. Would you actually go this time?"  
  
Kaida pulled back from him and rested her hands against his chest, "Yes." She shook her head again when his frown deepened, "Kei…I want to be with you. I do, but I can't if it means Aki is alone. If I have to choose right now, it will be him."  
  
Kei leaned down and kissed her. He'd known that was going to be her answer. It was the biggest reason he'd never done more than he was now. Kisses would be as far as he'd allow them while her brother's decision was still open. He poured everything he felt into the act. Slanting his mouth across hers and almost angrily pressing at the seam of her lips with his tongue.  
  
Kaida open her lips pressing back against his willingly. She wrapped her arms about his neck and pulled herself up until their heads were almost aligned. She wrapped her legs about his stomach and crossed her ankles behind his back. Kei moaned against her lips and tried to pry her off.  
  
Either Kaida was stronger than she looked or Kei's arms were refusing to follow his commands. She didn't budge from her position, but one small hand trailed down his chest and found its way beyond the buttoned front of his white dress shirt.  
  
It was like freezing fire against his skin. Her fingers were cold but everywhere they touched burned. Every touch scorched his skin and fueled the heat pooling in his groin. He tried to back away attempting to rip his lips from hers. She just followed.  
  
When she finial raised her lips from his it was only for them to trail across his jaw and up the side of his throat, before she whispered into his ear, "What you don't understand, Kei, is that in this I happen to be on your and Asami's side." She licked his ear then and dug her short nails into the skin on his stomach.  
  
Kirishima drug in a full breath and releasing her back, gripped her hand at his stomach. He shook his head, "NO." He succeeded in prying her from him so he could step back. Once there was space between them he panted out, "I can't do that."  
  
Kaida growled, "Why not? You want me as badly as I want you."  
  
Kei closed his eyes, "You don't think I haven't thought of this. That I haven't thought that if nothing else me bedding you would at least push the Council into granting Asami bonding rights with you?" He shook his head again, "I have, Kaida, but I know you won't leave your brother alone." He opened his eyes and looked at her, "I don't want to start this until we know we can continue."  
  
She shook her head again as she stepped back against his chest, "The council does not make choices for me." She placed her hand against his heart her palm burning against his skin, "I want this. What do you want?" She captured his eyes with her gaze, "Choose Kei, do we continue to explore what is between us or stop now?"  
  
Kirishima lowered his lips back to hers, whispering, "I really hope your brother doesn't kill me for this."  
  
Kaida laughed as she raised her lips to meet his, "Aki would never hurt anyone or anything I love."  
  
She got the rest of his shirt unbuttoned as they locked lips. Kei grasped her hips and raised her so he could grind his erection between the legs she once again locked her legs around his waist. He stumbled as he stepped up out of the sunken living room but managed to get both of them down the hallway. While he walked Kaida pushed the shirt from his shoulders and pulled hers over her head.  
  
Clothes were left in a trail, shirts and bra in the hallway and somehow Kaida's shorts and panties just inside the bedroom door. Kei paused kissing her lips and jaw to pull back the dark grey coverlet of his extra-long, king sized, European bed. The sheets under it were red and Kaida looked like a pale sacrifice on a bloody alter when he placed her down.  
  
He dropped his trousers but left his loose boxers on before joining her. She didn't hesitate to wrap her arms back about his neck as he kissed her again. Her hands ran along his back as he moved his lips down her throat. He paused at her collar bone kissing and biting until he left a bright red mark there. He gripped a breast in his left hand and squeezed before suckling on the small pink nipple.  
  
Kei raised his head, watching his hands as they ran across Kaida's skin. Part of his brain told him to stop. It was too soon; they'd only even known each other for about six weeks. The rest reviled in the smoothness of her skin, the narrowness of her taunt stomach and the flare of her hips.  
  
He worried at how small she was even have filled out from regular meals. Though, most of her weight gain had been in her hips and breasts. She was tiny when compared to other women of his people. Even for a human she was petite, shorter than the average human by nearly twenty-five centimeters.  
  
Kei leaned down and kissed her navel ghosting his lips across the skin and just stopping at the fine hairs covering her mound. He heard her breath hitch as he grasped her thighs and spread them. He looked up; he'd stop here if there was even a hint of fear. Her eyes were blown wide and heavy lidded as she looked at him but lust was the only thing he saw.  
  
Kei pressed her labia open with his thumbs and licked her small pea sized clitoris. Kaida moaned in the back of her throat and Kei smiled. She tasted like plums. Kei knew it was because of the chemical reaction his body had to hers. His people were closer to nature than humans and the strongest indicator one of them had potentially found a lifemate was for the person to smell and taste strongly of one's favorite fruit or flower. It wasn't a certainty a couple that smelled like each other's favorite scents would be compatible; however pairings between those were known to last for centuries.  
  
Early scientists were convinced it was nature's way of pairing the best breeders, but that had never explain the same gender lifemates joined together through the centuries. They also couldn't explainable how Jō could tell how strong a bond could be with a specific mage by smell alone. Kei and Asami had known they would be friends for life just after meeting. Both believed the other smelled of pungent wasabi a spice both of them favored with their sushi.  
  
Plums in all their forms were Kei's favorite food. Kaida had reminded him of his favorite preparation of the sweet fruit from the day he'd seen her laying on the concrete of the warehouse she and her brother had been discovered in. His mother had often pickled the small fruits whole with Mirin and ginger.  
  
Those scents filled his nose as he feasted on her essence. She tried rolling her hips and desperately gripped his hair while he licked, sucked and rubbed her most private parts. Her hips would have bucked had he not held them still with his hands. He delved his tongue into her vagina past her small hymen and lathed her insides.  
  
He spent several minutes tongue fucking her and Kaida screamed his name when he moved his thumbs to press almost painfully against her clitoris. Kei drank her cum and switched his tongue out for two fingers as he kissed his way back up her body.  
  
He paused at her lips whispering to her how good she tasted as the tremors from her climax stilled. Kaida opened her eyes to look at him again opening her mouth to speak only for Kei to cover her mouth with his and plunge his tongue past her lips as his fingers delved into her body. He probed for several second looking for the spongy mass of her G spot.  
  
When he found it he rubbed it gently at first then with increasing pressure. He kept at the action until he felt her insides soften, her hymen stretch, and she climaxed again. Only then did he reach down and push his boxers from his legs. He was long and thick and propped himself up with his right arm as he used his left to stroke her clit.  
  
He watched her face as he slid slowly into her, prepared to pause should there be any sign of pain or worse fear. Kaida held his eyes and then grinned. She wrapped her legs about his waist again and thrust her hips up impaling herself on his penis. She came again when their hips met growling, "Damit Kei, take me now!"  
  
The control Kirishima had exerted over himself snapped and soon the only sounds the room had was skin slapping skin as Kei pistoned in and out of his lover. Blood thickened and heat pooled at the base of his crotch. Kei sat up on his knees dragging Kaida with him. She scratched his chest at the sensations from their changed position and Kei leaned over her to bite her shoulder.  
  
It was hard enough that it drew blood and Kei came as her life essence flowed into his mouth. His cum was still flowing into her when Kaida repaid the bite with her own. Just above his heart. Kei felt her teeth tear through skin and his softening cock roared back to life.  
  
Kaida laughed as she looked back up at him. She licked his wound and then rose off his cock to kiss him. He could taste his blood in her mouth as she pushed him to his back. "My turn." She whispered as she impaled herself upon him again.  
  
Kei woke hours later to the sounds of pots clanking and water running in his kitchen. He reached out to find that he was alone in the bed. He rose and noticed there was a glass of water resting on the only bedside table in the room. He drank the cool liquid before rising and rummaging around his small dresser drawers to pull out the lounge pants and t-shirts he kept in the bedroom.  
  
He picked up the clothes they'd left lying about as he made his way back to the center of his apartment. He stopped at the sight of Kaida in his dress shirt cooking.  
  
The shirt swamped her pale body. It was hanging off of her left shoulder, exposing the now bruising bite mark and down past her hips nearly to her knees. The sleeves were rolled past where they would rest above his elbows but still covered most of her arms. Kei grew hard and had to adjust his pants before he was able to continue into the room and join her in the kitchen.  
  
"I would have cooked." He said as he approached her.  
  
"I'm certain you would have, but you cook for me all the time. Between you and Aki I never get to and I actually like cooking." Kaida was glancing at the soup pot as she spoke. "Besides you've never had my cooking. We should probably find out if you'll even like it."  
  
She turned and grinned then pointing at the clothes in his hands, "Especially considering what a disaster I can be with the washing." She turned back to the chopping board in front of her and started thinly slicing cabbage, "I should be able to share some of the chores when I move in."  
  
Kei's mouth dropped open, "Wait… what… I'm sorry can you repeat that?"  
  
Kaida glanced over her shoulder repeating, "Move in; it is something that typically happens with lovers isn't it?" She paused her knife and turned to look at him more fully, "Unless, I've misunderstood something?"  
  
"Um..well… no…" Kei was at a loss for words. Not a usually state for him. He wasn't a talker by any stretch of the imagination but that was not because he didn't have things to say. This moment though left him unable to think properly.  
  
Kiada turned back to the veggies she was prepping, "I didn't think so. It will probably be several weeks; what with the council meeting to get through and Aki to convince. So, we'll have time to figure out what each of us should probably take care of. I'm not a bad house keeper; but I really don't like washing clothes."  
  
Kei shook his head, "I don't understand; you want to move in with me? You're not even out of college yet. Hell you don't even start until October."  
  
Kaida pulled over a bowl and tossed the cabbage atop a pile of thinly julienned carrots, green onions, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. She poured a touch of oil into the wok she'd set upon the stove and then tossed the veggies into it.  
  
Kei watched as she stirred the vegetables for a couple of minutes before adding small amounts of zested ginger, finely minced garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. She was clearly prepping to make spring rolls. He pulled a long flat double layered tray from under the stove top. The top tray had numerous small holes in it which would allow any juice or other liquid to drain into the lower tray.  
  
Kaida smiled at him as she transferred the cooked mixture to the tray and spread it so it could cool. She turned off the stove front and checked the pot in the back as she said, "I am aware that I am not as old as you Kei." She pulled a long handled strainer out of the drawer near the sink and fetched the small onions, carrots and celery from the nearly clear broth in the boiler.  
  
She set them to cool on the counter as well before pulling over the chicken thighs she'd set out earlier. She debones them and cut the meat into small pieces putting them into the bowl she'd previously had the uncooked vegetables for the spring rolls. To that she added zested ginger, finely minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and several pinches of Kei's homemade 7 spice seasoning. She rolled the chicken meat in the mixture and covered it with plastic wrap.  
  
She washed her hands and put the chicken in the fridge, "Let me put on the rice and then we'll talk."  
  
Kei had just watched her. He'd found a profound sense of contentment as Kaida had moved about the kitchen. She hadn't even needed to ask where things were located which given it was only her second time in the apartment suppressed him until he realized she was probably familiar with his nearly obsessive compulsive need to put things in the most efficient locations as possible. It was nearly as bad as his need for everything to be placed in specific places in groups of five, six, seven, or eight.  
  
Kei had long stopped fighting the requirement for the strict control he needed over his environment. It was an underlying component of his Earth mentality and a lifesaver for Sion. His need to have everything in specific places, filed and stored in specific ways, and in most cases locked under several layers of security had prevented several reporting mishaps as well as ensured the company had the proper documentation when challenged by authorities.  
  
Kaida for all of her randomness with how she created her music not only understood his tendencies but worked her way through them and around them without challenging them. She was like a tiny zephyr dancing about him. Always felt but never really disturbing his peace of mind. It was not something he could say about her brother.  
  
Kei washed the knife and cutting board she had used while Kaida wiped down the counter top. He pointed to the cooked carrots, onions, and celery. They were roughly chopped each only into thirds. "What are you going to do with those?"  
  
She smiled, "Wait until we cook the rest of dinner to find out." She pointed to the sunken living room. "The chicken has to marinate for twenty minutes and the spring roll veggies will take the long to cool down. Let's talk."  
  
Kei followed her into the sunken living room. She pulled him down next to her on one side of the teak table. Once he was seated she faced him and asked, "Why don't you want me to move in with you?"  
  
Kirishima shook his head. Kaida continued to shock him. She was nearly opposite from his normal reserve going after what she wanted with little thought to the possible consequences. He however thought through all the potential effects and planned around them. In the business he was in it was ill conceived to not have strategies for every possible outcome.  
  
His lengthy silence caused Kaida to start frowning. He reached out and took her hands. "It is not that I don't want you here." He paused again not knowing how to explain why the thought of her moving in with him had not even crossed his mind.  
  
She tugged on her hands but he held fast to them, "Don't pull away. I just need to figure out how to say this." He took a deep breath. "This is all new to me. I honestly don't know where we're supposed to go from here. I hadn't even planned on sleeping with you before you finished college and here you are talking about moving in with me after seducing me."  
  
Kaida laughed, it was loud and tossed her head backwards as she pulled a hand free to clutch her stomach. She laughed that way for several seconds before she settled to chuckles and climbed into his lap wrapping her legs about his waist.  
  
"Let me guess. You believed that you'd stick with small kisses and dates that consisted of dinners and perhaps the occasional show or music before dropping me off at Asami-sama's door. This would go on until I at least finished my undergraduate degree from which you'd start seriously wooing me with long weekends at the beach or in the mountains each of us having our own rooms of course."  
  
She paused and kissed his nose, "Only once I finished graduate school and secured employment would you even consider asking me to date you full time. Then after a couple years of that you'd feel out if I wanted to have sex with you. Does that sound close?"  
  
Kei closed his eyes. It wasn't just close it was nearly exactly what he'd planned. All she'd left out was the last two parts where if she'd had sex with him he'd ask Asami for her hand and marry her. He blushed. It was uncomfortable and he was unable to respond while he fought the visible evidence she had figured him out.  
  
She laughed as she kissed his lips again. "It would never have worked. Life is too short not to grab it with both hands." She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I don't know where I'll be in a week, Kei. Every time Aki and I think we've found a place to land it gets ripped out from under us."  
  
She placed a hand on his chest, "It has made Aki stop looking; I on the other hand intend to milk every chance for all they're worth. I may not have you very long so I plan on making the most of it."  
  
Kei looked back at her, "I don't know where that leaves me; you make it sound like you know this will end."  
  
She shrugged, "I don't know it will but I would rather have this time with you and lose it than to not have it at all. I don't look too far into the future Kei. It is too uncertain." She kissed him again then said, "I know that for you, the thinker you are, the jump is hard. Will you take it if I promise to jump with you?"  
  
Kei looked at her. He knew what she was asking, but leaping into their relationship was fraught with dangers especially to their hearts. It could be that no arguments they make would sway the council to vote in Asami's favor.  
  
The teens might believe they can escape if they wanted, but if the full contingent of Jō chose to corral them they wouldn't stand a chance. If he and she jumped before the council vote they could end before they even really got started.  
  
Kaida leaned against his chest, "The fall is part of the fun, Kei. Take the leap with me."  
  
He nearly shook his head then he smelled sweet plums and pungent ginger. He tumbled then and for the first time since meeting Ryuichi centuries in the past he made a decision with his feelings instead of his head.  
  
Kaida knew she'd won when Kei asked, "How long will it take to convince your brother to not kill me if you move in?"  
  
She laughed again, "Don't worry about him. I'll talk to him as soon as the Council meeting is over." She paused then, "Though you can actually help with the conversation."  
  
"How?" Kei was confused. Hate might be a strong word for what Akihito felt about him but it wasn't far off. The boy was barely civil to him.  
  
"We need to help Asami convince Aki to let the man bed him."  
  
Kei's eyes widened, "What, wait, how did you…"  
  
Kaida climbed out of his lap with another laugh, "Oh, please, Asami can't keep his hands off Aki and my brother, he's wants it so bad it's nearly nauseating to be around the two of them."  
  
"Then why doesn't he give in, if he wants it as much as you claim?" Kei was curious. Akihito wasn't shy. He'd gone toe to toe with Kei several times and not just about Kaida. There was the accountant he'd all but forced Kei to hire and the tirade about the excessive amount that the marketing department was originally planning on spending to advertise the dance bar that Asami had open near Tokyo's University's main campus.  
  
No the boy wasn't shy and Kei knew his Jō wasn't the most patient of men. So the fact that Asami had not bedded the boy had convinced Kei that Aki really didn't want it.  
  
Kaida stepped up to the carpet and then into the kitchen, "Aki doesn't trust he'll ever get a happy ending." She turned and looked back at Kei sadly, "He's convinced he doesn't deserve one."  
  
"Why is that?" Kei rose and joined her.  
  
"I don't know. I asked him once." She pulled the chicken from the fridge and set it on the counter. "He said that it must be karma. He thinks that he did something horrible. He believes it is his fault neither of us have any memories from before our adoption by the Takabas."  
  
She pulled a wire mesh strainer from the back of a bottom cabinet and placed it over a stainless steel bowl. She put the cooked onions, carrot and celery stick in the mesh and used a spoon to mash the soft veggies through the mesh leaving behind any skins and strings.  
  
To this she added several grams of rice flour as well as some salt and pepper. She stirred the mixture pausing occasionally to add additional rice flour or a bit of water until it made a small mound of wet dough.  
  
Next she wet a thin cloth and pulled out a small dish in this she mixed water and rice flour until a thin slurry was formed. Kei pulled the package of spring roll wrappers from the fridge. They stood next to each other as they rolled them.  
  
They laid a wrapper down before spooning about fourteen grams of the veggies onto it and then rolling the wrapper tight. At the final turn they rubbed a bit of the slurry mixture onto the wrapper's edges to glue it shut. The wrapped spring rolls were line up on the tray Kaida had set out and covered with the thin damp cloth she'd made to prevent them from drying out before frying.  
  
Once all of the spring rolls were made she and Kei paused to clean up the counters and put the dirty spoons, cups, and other dishes into the dishwasher. Kaida then pulled out a large deep wok which she half way filled with canola oil and turn up the burner to high so it could heat. She also set out small non-stick wok which she put on a low flame on the very back burner. Last she pulled the large round skillet Kei only ever used to fry eggs in when he wanted a more American breakfast. This she set on the front burner next to the large wok.  
  
She turned to Kei and asked, "Do you want some fresh veggies with this?"  
  
He glanced over the cook ware she had out and shook his head, "If we eat all that you look like you're about to make we'll burst."  
  
She smiled at that and tested the oil. Being satisfied it was ready she turned the heat under it down to medium and slid the first of the egg rolls into it. As those cooked she turned the heat on the back burner up. Then she pulled the wet dough she'd made from the mashed vegetables earlier. She picked the whole mass up in her left hand and a large spatula in her right.  
  
She wiped the bottom of the round pan with the mixture no sooner did she get the bottom of the pan coated then she folded the resulting paper thin pancake into a triangle with the large spatula. This she quickly removed from the pan and placed on a plate Kei had not seen her take out. She did several of these before putting the mixture down and using the mesh bamboo strainer to fetch the spring rolls from the oil.  
  
She slipped the next batch of spring rolls into the oil using her clean hand and then poured the chicken in to the small wok in the back. She then made several more of the thin pancakes.  
  
Kei watched as Kaida moved from one cooking item to another. She hummed while she worked and her body swayed as she progressed through the steps. Extract cooked spring rolls, put new ones on to fry, stir the browning chicken, and then create the thin pancakes. He was mesmerized by the dance she created that he found himself actually disappointed when she pulled the last of the spring rolls from the oil.  
  
Kaida dropped the little bit of wet dough she had left back into the bowl. She then washed and dried her hands. Before pushing the oil filled wok to the back of the stove. "That will have to cool before we can clean it up," she commented as she pulled a very small boiler from the cabinet and poured in soy sauce, mirin, a couple of crushed garlic cloves and several slices of ginger. This she set on medium low heat as she pulled the round frying pan from the burner and set it inside the stainless steel sink.  
  
"I put some chopped green onions, sliced mushrooms, and diced carrots in the fridge earlier, would you hand them to me please?" She asked as she stirred the chicken.  
  
Kei pulled the item from the refrigerator and set them on the counter. Kaida smiled and pointed to the soup stock sitting on the warming plate, "Drop some sliced mushrooms and green onions into some soup bowls please."  
  
Kei did as she asked and then she took the rest of the mushrooms and the carrots and added them to the chicken. She only cooked them for a couple of minutes before she scooped a few grams of the sauce she was warming into the small wok. Once the sauce nearly boiled away she added another few grams. She did this three times tossing the wok contents about until she was certain everything was coated. Then she asked Kei for some plates.  
  
Kei bowled out the rice as he watched Kaida plate their food. The thin pancakes were stacked in a fan shape on one side of the plate. The other got a pile of the chicken over which she sprinkled the last of the chopped green onions.  
  
She then poured the clear broth soup she'd made into the bowls with the thinly sliced mushrooms and green onions. "Could you put these on the table while I pour up the dipping sauce?"  
  
Kei smiled, "absolutely." He carried the plates, then the bowls, and finally the rice to the table before setting out chopsticks and linen napkins. He was about to return when Kaida arrived at the table with the pile of Spring rolls and two ramekins of dipping sauce.  
  
Kei returned to the refrigerator and pulled a bottle of what looked like wine. Kaida laughed, "You know I'm not twenty-one."  
  
Kei smiled and turned the bottle, "sparkling white grape juice." He twisted the cap off and poured two glasses of the bubbly juice, "I can drink several glasses of bourbon without any ill effects, but for some reason anything made with grapes gets me drunk."  
  
He sat then and looked across the table, "This looks delicious."  
  
"Hum," Kaida grinned, "Help me get Aki into Asami's bed and we can do this every night." 


	6. Moments of Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories and a new Club.
> 
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano.  
> I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am curious if anyone has guessed what Asami, Kirishima, and Suoh are yet. If you think you know leave a comment. :-)

Akihito sat near the top if the English Oak. In fact he was so close his head could have popped out of the leafy branches so he could view the sight of Tokyo from the tree's height, if he stood up. However, he was lounging against the trunk with one leg resting across a limb while the other dangled.  
  
His jeans had a new rip in them. Right along the bottom of the left back pocket and the yellow t-shirt he'd grabbed from the closet that morning, was now missing a sleeve. There was a scratch along his right cheek, one bleeding down the outside of his left bicep, and he was petty certain he sported a large bruise on his stomach. Climbing a tree should have been easier than an old drain pipe. At least he'd thought that when he started.  
  
Tree limbs though bend. Sometimes when one least expects them too especially as one gets closer to the top. It only took one near disastrous spill for Aki to stick closer to the trunk as he climbed. He was reckless not stupid. Though from the ruckus his guards made you'd have thought he'd run away from them again.  
  
They'd yelled and shouted and caused such a disturbance that Aibi-sensei had been forced to threaten them over causing harm to her flowers. Toshiro, the leader, had apologized and after making certain Akihito could not climb over the back walls had pulled Kano, Takeo, and himself back out of sight.  
  
So as punishment Aki was still in the tree. He'd spent the entire afternoon there. At first he'd taken a ton of pictures. Some were of the tree limbs, of the sky, of the city from the unique vantage point, even of his self as he leaned against the trunk. Then he'd taken a not quite nap. It had been the best one to date. The summer breeze was cool on his skin in the warm sun. The leaves tinkled as they rustled in the moving air almost providing him a lullaby. Best of all, there were no people around.  
  
He took his pictures first. The high performance camera that never left his side these days was fully utilized. He'd come up the tree with his bag. In fact the gash on his arm was from saving the precious item. The bag had slipped on his shoulder and nearly fallen. Even in the padded carrier Aki knew the camera would not have survived the fall. Not that it would have mattered; Aki knew, or could admit to himself in private at least, that Asami wouldn't have cared if the camera had gotten broken. The man however was going to be livid Akihito was bleeding.  
  
That was the second reason he'd stayed in the tree. It was the primary reason that once he'd taken all the photos he could think of he'd settled against the trunk and took an almost nap. He probably could have taken a full one had he climbed down to the larger limbs closer to the ground or even just found a larger nook to rest in. However, Aki had never felt so close to the sky. Which he found strange, considering that he had often been atop much taller objects than the old oak.  
  
He pointedly ignored the beeps of incoming messages on his wrist computer. From the different tones he knew at least two were from his sister. The other nine, which he refused to admit he counted, were from Asami. He sat in the tree and felt more than watched the world go by. Other than Aibi-sensei yelling up the trunk and asking Aki if he wanted tea several hours before the only sounds Aki heard were from the tree and wind. Even the bright green, white eyes, whose nest he'd disturbed earlier, were quite.  
  
It was twilight now. He should have left Aibi-sensei's house several hours before. However he really wanted to avoid going back to the penthouse. His wrist beeped again, this time with the sound for messages from his guards. Instead of answering he closed his eyes and thought about dancing light.  
  
Several minutes later found him bouncing a small ball of bright white light between his hands. It trailed silver sparkles as it moved. Aki found he could change the ball's color by shaping it and he spent several minutes running the weightless object through the rainbow.  
  
Eventually he turned it completely black at first he wasn't certain how he'd done it then he realized the black ball was nothing more than the complete absence of light. The thought disturbed him and he quickly released the ball.  
  
Using his power wasn't something he normally did consciously. Typically he wielded it out of stress or panic. His most recent memory being his escape from the brothel owner in Kōtō, a section of the city neither he nor Kaida had been back to since meeting Asami. Asami claims he used the power to save his sister from severe poisoning the night he'd found them. Asami also claimed that Kaida had wielded the same power to save Akihito.  
  
Since then Aki had stopped at local shrines several times, even though he didn't particularly believe in any of the Kamas or deities they supported. He prayed at each one Asami was wrong. He prayed Kaida didn't have the ability to gather light, to mould light, or to chase it away as he could. He prayed so that she'd never use it the way he had.  
  
Aki looked out over the city again this time to drive the memories away. It was his only lie, even if only by omission. He did have one memory from before the Takabas had found him and Kaida walking barefoot along a cold mountain road.  
  
It was of light; bright white, burning light that bounced off of dark stone walls and left behind scorched blackened craters. There were large bodies lying cold on the floor in his recollections. He could never see their faces. He knew the people in his memories were dead; how he wasn't certain. Worst was when he could remember the sounds. It was of shouts, running feet, and crackling fire; over all of them Kaida screamed.  
  
"Akihito!"  
  
He jerked his eyes open. Asami, wrapped in climbing gear stood on the branch below him. It caused their heads to be at the same level and Asami was peering deep into his now open eyes.  
  
"Akihito? Hey are you with me?"  
  
Aki shook his head, terror still flooded his limbs and had it not been for the fact Asami had his right bicep gripped Aki knew he'd have fallen out of the tree. He twisted and wrapped his arms about Asami's chest. He would go back to being angry and argumentative later. Right now he wanted nothing more than the solid reminder that Kaida and he weren't trapped in that place. He needed the knowledge that Kaida wasn't screaming in fear and pain, but instead safe, well fed, and even happy.  
  
So he clung to the torso of the man that had given Kaida those things when he could not. Later he'd be embarrassed about the shuddering sobs, his trembling limbs, and his inability to say anything but the same phrase repeatedly. Right now though he just burrowed in Asami's chest and let the smell of tobacco, cloves, and sweet alcohol fill his senses.  
  
Asami wrapped an arm about Akihito. He was glad he'd decided to gear up for the tree climb. He'd done so initially because it had been centuries since he'd climbed a tree and the last thing he wanted was to embarrass his self by slipping and crashing to the ground. The fall might not kill him but it could potentially hurt like hell for days. So even though all he really wanted to do was scale the old oak quickly and lecture Aki about hiding out up here all day, he'd paused long enough to rope up.  
  
He was still a good meter below the boy when he'd heard the first moans. Asami had then abandoned safety for swiftness. He'd heard that sound several times over the past week. Usually in the wee hours of the morning long after Akihito had gone to sleep. The boy was having a nightmare. If his others were anything to go by the moans would be swiftly followed by thrashing limbs and Akihito's voice trying to scream his sister's name.  
  
Asami reached the limb below the boy and had just tied the harness rope about the trunk when the first arm flailed. Asami snatched the boy's arm and held him still. "Akihito!"  
  
The boy's eyes shot open. For a brief second Asami was worried Akihito had not recognized him; so, it caught Asami completely off guard when the boy all but threw himself into his chest. Now he held a shuddering boy in his arms; one that kept repeating the same German phrase over and over. "Ich wollte es nicht. (I didn't mean to.)"  
  
Asami whispered reassurances into Akihito's hair as he wrapped the ropes about the boy's torso, hips, and legs. He glanced down and saw Aibi's wind standing below them with her arms raised. Aibi stood next to the woman and nodded her head. Asami glanced at his boy. Akihito's eyes were squeezed shut. So Asami released his harness from the lead rope wrapped about the tree trunk and stepped off of his limb.  
  
The decent was nothing like riding an elevator. Asami wrapped both arms about Akihito and held his weight as Aibi's Air used a steady updraft and mini tornado to slow their decent. Asami was a powerful enough Jō that he did not require Riki to be present in order to create an area of calm about them preventing any of the leaves caught by the whirlwind from striking the boy.  
  
Akihito had grown quiet and then heavy on the ride down. Asami was therefore unsurprised to find him passed completely out when he laid the boy out for Aibi's air to check him over.  
  
Aibi looked down at the boy frowning, "I'm so glad you were here." She knelt and stroked his cheek. "When he climbed the tree this afternoon he said he just needed time away from your guards." She looked up at Asami, "I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd harm himself."  
  
Asami looked Akihito over, noticing the new rip in his jeans, the long bloody scratch on his arm and the smaller one on his cheek. "Don't worry. The scratches are normal." He gave her a brief smile, "Akihito picks new ones up every couple of days."  
  
He looked over at the woman treating the long gash, "Should I take him to a hospital?"  
  
She looked up from applying cream and shook her head, "I don't believe so. The visible wounds are superficial. I don't even need to stitch this." She gestured to the arm she was wrapping in gauze. "He's got a slight sun burn and is probably dehydrated. To be honest I see no reason for him to have passed out."  
  
Asami felt he knew why, the nightmares that plagued the boy were not new. Though, the German was. He still didn't know what about the black and white photograph of the bombed castle had frightened the boy. His contacts in Germany had found nothing so far and the photo was of little help having been taken before cameras were equipped with geo location.  
  
Aibi's wind rose and stepped back, "I suggest you take him home, feed him and put him in bed."  
  
Asami shook his head no as he pulled the climbing gear from his body. "We're supposed to be at the opening of the new club tonight." He glanced at the woman again, "Unless you're saying he's too injured to go?"  
  
"No, but make sure you feed him and get him to drink plenty of fluids." The woman rose, "He's young so he should bounce back rather quickly."  
  
Takeo, one of Akihito's guards, gathered the gear as it landed on the ground. Asami nodded to him before bending down and picking the boy up under his knees and around his torso. Akihito shifted in his arms placing his head on Asami's right shoulder and his hand over Asami's heart.  
  
Aibi smiled at the picture, "If I were not willing to grant you bonding rights to him because you asked Ryuichi, I would for this." She patted the boy's shoulder. "Tell me, what does he smell like?"  
  
Asami nearly didn't answer. Scent was a driving force for decision making in his people, trusted more than sound and sight. Asami himself used it regularly. It had been how he'd known Kei's younger brother would be a useful addition to his mages, the young man carried the same aroma of wasabi that Kei did even if not as strong. Suoh smelled like pungent fir, the aroma gotten by crushing the tree's long needles. Kaida smelled like plums.  
  
His Fire, Kou always reminded him of fresh grilled mackerel, Asami's favorite fish. It was how he'd known the emergency bonding he'd initiated with the young man would take. Asami looked at Aibi, he opened his mouth then paused; the woman had been friends with his mother she would know what Akihito's smell meant.  
  
Aibi smiled, "Peaches." At Asami's shocked look she laughed, "It was how your father always described your mother. It would make sense for your life mate to smell the same way." She patted Asami's shoulder then. "It is the only sweet either of you've ever liked."  
  
Asami shook his head. He should have known Aibi would remember his parent's preferences. "I forget how long you've known the family some days."  
  
"Hum, don't admit that out loud. Some would say it shows your age," she replied. "Take your life mate, Ryuichi. I will do my part next full moon to ensure he, and his sister, remain in your care."  
  
"Thank you Aibi." He rose fully and carried Akihito to the limo. He climbed in the back and cradled the boy against his chest. It was eerily similar to the night he'd first found him. Only this time he didn't fight the urging Akihito's scent pressed upon his psyche. Once the limo was in motion he raised the privacy screen and adjusted Akihito in his arms.  
  
Aki came slowly awake to a biting pain on his left shoulder. He felt warm lips suctioned to his skin and the sharp piercing of canines. He slowly opened his eyes to see Asami raising his head and licking his lips. "Asami?" He couldn't remember leaving the tree much less how he came to be straddling Asami's hips with his body pressed against the man's chest in the back of the limo.  
  
Asami just smiled at him and lowered his mouth to Aki's shoulder again. Akihito moaned when he felt Asami suck on the same location the sharp pain had been earlier. He felt warm thick liquid trickle down his neck and shuddered when Asami's tongue followed it down to his collar bone before returning to lap at his throat again.  
  
It didn't hurt in truth it was one of the most erotic things Asami had ever done at least until he tilted Akihito's head and kissed him. All of Asami's scents drowned him. They were backed by the metallic taste of blood. Aki pushed himself up and away from Asami's chest eliciting a growl of displeasure from the man. However he helped Aki open his shirt and willingly allowed the boy to run his hands over his chest once it had been removed.  
  
"Asami…." Aki moaned as he felt the warm skin. He found the smell of blood intoxicating and though the rational part of his mind screamed the primal part was louder. Asami had tasted him. Now it was Akihito's turn. He pressed his lips just above Asami's heart. He could feel its beat with his tongue as it lathed wetness across the thick muscle. He bit down but he found he couldn't break the skin.  
  
In frustration he scratched at the man's chest but the skin only changed colors revealing a line of bright white before turning back to the man's normal healthy color.  
  
Asami chuckled at the boy. He was close to losing all rationality. Akihito was entering a state of blood lust. Considering the fact Akihito did not know what a Radiant was and had admitted after he started taking lessons from Chimon-sensei that he didn't use his powers consciously Asami felt comfortable deducing that Akihito had never entered a blood rage before. The bite of one's life mate was the only consistent trigger for them ever documented.  
  
Asami should have controlled himself. Akihito would not be in this state had Asami not given in and tasted the boy's essence. However, Asami's taking of his blood provided him a layer of control he'd not previously had over the boy. "Akihito, go back to sleep."  
  
The boy's eye's glazed over and he slumped against Asami's chest once again. Asami laid him out on the seat opposite him and redressed. That had almost gotten out of hand. He'd come very close to allowing the boy to exchange blood with him.  
  
It was an act he'd promised would not happen until after the boy had bonded with him as a Radiant. That bond would enable Asami to keep the boy together as he learned about his power and their world. Their blood bond would only take place once Akihito gave himself to Asami consciously.  
  
He looked over at the boy; sleeping unaware of the beast raging with in Asami. It roared at the scratches and bruises on the boy and demanded Asami take what was obviously his. To force his will upon the boy and ensure he never endangered himself again.  
  
Since introducing Akihito to Aibi and Chimon that part of him grew stronger each passing night. The nightmares that plagued the boy did nothing to help. Asami knew Akihito's waking brain held no memories of the nights the boy screamed Asami awake, nor was Akihito aware of the fact that he would climb crying into Asami's arms begging him to make what it was in his dreams stop.  
  
His inner best growled at him as he shrugged on a dress shirt. It took until he was settling the suit coat around his shoulders that it finally quieted down completely.  
  
Asami called Kirishima, "How'd dinner go?"  
  
"Um. We're just finishing." Asami could hear the embarrassment in his friend's voice.  
  
"Tell Kiada that her brother and I will be out all evening. She shouldn't wait up."  
  
The girl's voice sounded over the line, "That's fine Asami-sama. I'll be staying at Kei's anyway."  
  
Asami heard Kei try to admonish the girl and laughed, "Congratulations. I'll see you both tomorrow." He disconnected the line then smiling, it looked like Kei was going to be getting what he wanted even if he hadn't planned on it. He pulled Akihito back across his lap and set about changing his clothes.  
  
Akihito woke to the sounds of pounding music. He raised his head from the soft covered pillow it was resting on and realized the noise was coming from outside the limo. The pillow turned out to be Asami's left thigh. Aki pushed himself completely up and stared at Asami.  
  
The last thing he remembered was that they were both sitting at the top of the oak tree in Aibi-sensei's back garden. He had no idea how they'd gotten down and into the limo, nor did he understand how his ripped jeans and t-shirt had been replaced. He was now wearing dark brow slacks, with brown socks and dark brown lace up oxfords. His t-shirt had been exchanged for a silky sky blue button up and a causal indigo jacket. The pocket of the jacket had a sleeping black fox embroidered on it.  
  
"You woke up just in time." Asami's baritone pulled Akihito's thoughts from his attire and made him look at the man. "I would have felt bad about waking you."  
  
"Um, how did we…" Aki changed his mind about asking how they got out of the tree. He was afraid that it would remind the man Akihito had thrown himself into Asami's arms and the last thing Aki wanted to deal with while his brain was still acting like mush was a smug Asami. "Where are we?"  
  
"Tomei Nawa" Asami gestured to the now open limo door, "You picked the theme; I figured you should take the opening shots."  
  
It was then that Akihito noticed his camera bag was sitting on the floor at his feet. He grabbed the bag and exited the limo. The noise of the crowd and the drum beats nearly deafened him. The flashing of nearby cameras nearly blinded him. He felt Asami's hand on his back and took a step forward so the man could also exit the limo. Luckily there were no cameras flashed at them. The crowd of reporters not recognizing Akihito as anyone important had moved on to the next limo.  
  
Aki looked around as Asami climbed from the car. He realized that there was a troop performing Kumi-daiko right near the club's entrance which was where the booming sounds in his head were coming from. There was a large crowd of people gathered at the main entrance. They were shouting, waving, and pressing halo-pens and tablets at the range of celebrities disembarking their own limos and entering the building.  
  
Aki was glad he didn't work for a paper at the moment. Attempting to capture anything useful from the mess at the entrance was nearly futile. Instead he followed Asami past the backs of the crowd and journalist and in through a secondary entrance. There were plenty of photo worthy people here as well. Akihito saw several members of the Diet, along with members of the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Organized Crime Control Bureau.  
  
The head of the bureau, a slightly overweight man with dark eyes and dark hair, stepped up to Asami and bowed, "Asami-sama, you have done it again. This club will surely revitalize this part of Ginza."  
  
"Thank you for the confidence Chief Kiozumi. I hope you enjoy opening night." Asami placed his and on Akihito's back again and started to move away. "Do not forget that Oyakata Tachibana-sensei will be giving a demonstration in the upper lounge for our VIP members at midnight."  
  
The chief bowed again, "I will certainly try and make it. I love watching Tachibana-sensei work."  
  
Asami seemed to not care if the chief had responded to his comment. He preceded Akihito through the crowded entry way, past the packed tables in the open bar area, and up a short flight of carpeted steps.  
  
The whole of the club was dark. The floors were all black even the carpets. The walls an extremely dark grey and the tables were clear glass with black wrought iron legs. The padded chairs and barstools were covered in dark grey matching the walls. There was a wooden dance floor and two small stages fronted by a sunken orchestra pit all lacquered in shiny black.  
  
Japanese art hung from the walls in the form of painted Kimonos, large fans, and the long painted scrolls called Emaki. Waiters and Waitresses moved about the guests in lightweight summer Yukata and traditional foot wear, but the bar tenders were dressed in dark grey suits over black dress shirts and sported bright red ties.  
  
Unlike the outside of the club with its loud drums and screaming crowds the inside was almost quiet. There was a selection of traditional Japanese instruments among the musicians. Aki saw a Shamisen, the three stringed lute popularly associated in Kabuki theaters. There was also a Biwa, the pear shaped four stringed lute and a Koto lap harp.  
  
Currently only two musicians played. One on a Shaku hachi, a curved bamboo flute, the other on the haunting double reed flute called Hichiriki. There was only one percussionist on a Sekkin, a lithophone of round river rocks strung together by rope. Two women in ornate Kimonos danced one on either stage.  
  
Aki paused at the bottom of the steps to pull out his camera. He glanced at it and noticed his nighttime lens had already been affixed. It had probably been set up by Kano who shared his love of photography if not his skill. The man loved the art enough that he was allowed to be visible whenever Aibi-sensei took Aki out and about Tokyo to practice.  
  
Aki raised the camera to his face and focused on the left hand stage. The young woman there was gowned in nearly all green. Several different layers of the Kimono were visible and the color green gradually grew darker from a light green that was nearly white on her Nagajuban to bright emerald on her Kimono. Bright leafy reeds waved along her gown's hem as she moved.  
  
He was just about to click the shutter when a hand ripped the camera away. "Just what do you think you're doing?"  
  
Aki nearly choked as the camera strap was yanked back across his neck. He quickly turned rubbing the strap across his bare throat and leaving a dark red mark as he glared at the man holding his camera, "Taking pictures, what does it look like? Who the hell are you? And give me back my camera!"  
  
The man in front of him was slightly taller than Aki, he had bleached blonde hair, soft brown eyes and a beauty mark just under his lip on the left side. He was dressed in a dark grey suite and wore a gold and silver chain about his neck. "I am the manager and I don't know who let you in but pictures are forbidden."  
  
He gestured towards a black suited bouncer who started making his way towards them. The man tugged on the camera again as he turned it over in his hands. "How do I get the memory card out of this?"  
  
"What?" Aki had to step closer to the man to prevent the strap from ripping from his neck; he was hit with the overpowering smell of bleach and pungent cologne. It made him want to gag. "Let it go! This hurts."  
  
The man sneered, "This little tug is nothing."  
  
The bouncer had reached them and grasped Aki's arm. The grip was tight, so tight Aki could feel his arm bruising. He tried to jerk away but found he not only couldn't, but that the manager had taken the opportunity to pull the camera from around his neck.  
  
Sudo sneered at the young man again. Taking pictures inside, the boy was probably some reporter looking for a scoop on the new club. Well he wouldn't let anyone harm his boss's reputation. He gestured for his man to take the boy out, "Put him out and make sure he knows not to come back."  
  
His best bouncer was just starting to drag the nuisance away when a low baritone asked, "Sudo, what are you doing?"  
  
The bouncer stopped and Aki took the loosened hold Asami's voice had caused for the chance it was. He ripped his arm free and all but scuttled behind Asami's back. There he gingerly touched his arm and tried raising it over his head. Yep, bruised, it was going to make taking proper photos hell.  
  
The blonde manager stood like a small animal caught under a predator's gaze. Sudo swelled with anticipation but he knew that the man in front of him was displeased. "Sorry sir, I was just trying to remove a nuisance. I will ensure you are not bothered. I can take care of this."  
  
Asami really didn't like the man in front of him. If he hadn't been so very good at running Dracaena he'd have fired the bleach blonde years ago. However, Sudo was an excellent manager. Every club Asami put him in charge of thrived. Dislike of an individual wasn't enough reason to not use their skills. So, Asami just limited his interactions with the man and left him in charge of earning Sion profit.  
  
However, Sudo had touched Akihito. Asami couldn't assess the damage out on the open floor but from the wince he'd seen Akihito produce as he'd pulled away from the bouncer and the bright red mark across his throat Asami was certain it wasn't good.  
  
He wasn't certain what punishment Sudo would receive until he'd inspected the damage. However he could ascertain what the man thought he was doing, "why do you have my photographer's camera?"  
  
Sudo swallowed before asking, "Your photographer?"  
  
"Yes," Asami reached out and took the camera from Sudo's trembling hands, "My photographer. Who I brought here tonight to take publicity photos from inside the club, seeing as we don't allow the press beyond the doors."  
  
"Oh, well… I believed him to be press, sir, the sneaky kind always trying to get a story even if they have to make it up." Sudo smiled warmly at the boy now hiding behind Asami, "I am so sorry to have mistaken you for one of them."  
  
"Your door guards are so bad they'd let one of them in?" Asami took a step closer to Sudo, "Are you saying that non-members might be the club now, Sudo?"  
  
Sudo quailed in his chest but spoke steadily, "No, sir, I was just being extra diligent sir." He gestured up the steps, "Please let me take you to your table."  
  
Asami grunted before turning and taking Akihito by the arm and guiding him up the steps. Akihito paused again and glanced at the stage. The woman in green was still dancing. "Wait, I need a photo." He pointed at the stage.  
  
Asami smiled gently down at him and handed him back his camera. Aki raised it to his eye again grimacing at the pain in his arm. This time he captured several images before lowering the camera. Asami whispered in his ear, "Finished?"  
  
Aki jerked up and blushed before stammering out, "Um… Y..yes." Asami gestured up the steps and this time Akihito preceded him.  
  
Asami turned after Akihito was nearly out of sight, "Sudo, the photographer."  
  
"Yes, Asami-sama?" Sudo glanced up the steps.  
  
"He's a member…. of all Sion's clubs." Asami didn't wait for acknowledgement before following after Akihito.  
  
Sudo stood open mouthed for several seconds. His floor bouncer asked if he was still needed and Sudo was forced to wave him away. How embarrassing. Asami was not pleased. He jogged up the steps, but instead of turning to the left where the VIP seats overlooked the stages and dance floor he turned right and went up another level to the club's office.  
  
It was decorated in Asami's preference. Sudo would have preferred more extravagance and less utilitarian of a style like his office at Dracaena, but the fabrics, woods, and metals were of the highest quality and the furniture was quite comfortable. He poured himself a glass of bourbon to calm his nerves then crossed to the two way mirror overlooking the lower levels. He looked right at Asami's table.  
  
The occupants would be hidden to anyone on the floor. The recessed table surrounded by dark walls and extremely low light. However from above Sudo could see nearly everything. Asami had the young man's coat off and his shirt unbuttoned. He removed the arm the bouncer had grabbed and rubbed his hands over it. Sudo heard a crash and looked down to see alcohol staining his dark slacks. He'd dropped the glass his drink had been in.  
  
It wasn't possible. It wasn't happening. Asami had never shown such concern over anyone before. The man was nearly emotionless; anger being the only one he'd ever expressed in Sudo's presence. Indifferent, authoritative, and dangerous were Asami-sama's primary traits. Nowhere in the man's psyche was concern, consideration, or safety. Yet, here the man was fussing over the unassuming mutt of a photographer.  
  
He glanced back up and noticed that the boy's shirt was back on and he was standing at the railing that protected patrons from falling down into seating on the floor below. He was taking pictures again. That boy was a member of Club Tomei Nawa?  
  
No, now that he thought about it Asami had stated the boy was a member of all of Sion owned clubs. That meant the boy had access to Club Sion, Asami's first club and home office of the corporation. Sudo didn't even have that. He slammed his fist against the glass. The skin across the left of his chest tugged oddly. He pulled open his shirt and stared at the dark brand there.  
  
It had been the most painful feeling of his life. At least until he'd watched Asami dote on the boy downstairs. Vurste, or Mathias as he was now to call him, had burned the image of the Germanic dragon's head deeply into his flesh. Nearly two weeks later and he still woke at night believing he could feel the fire. Mathias said it was a sign that Sudo belonged to his master Aloysius.  
  
Until tonight Sudo had been looking for ways to get the brand removed. However if Asami was going to continue to ignore all Sudo did for him and instead enthrall that boy with attention, well perhaps a new boss wasn't such a bad idea.  
  
He turned back to the office and picked up a black tablet. The dragon image appeared on the screen when he activated it. It was time to see just what the best method of hijacking they should use for Aloysius' engine. Perhaps he could ask for the boy to be taken away as part of his payment.  
  
Aki tussled with Asami one they reached the private booth. The man had pulled off his jacket and was busy unbuttoning his shirt, "Asami, stop it, someone will see."  
  
"No they won't. Not unless they come right upon the table and our guards won't let that happen." He gripped Akihito's wrist, "Now let me see the arm that buffoon grabbed."  
  
Aki sighed and helped to pull off his shirt, but only on the arm that the bouncer had grabbed. "See, it's just a little bruise."  
  
Asami ground his teeth together. Akihito's ‘little' bruise encircled the boy's arm. The bouncer had held the boy's arm so tightly that the skin was swollen and dark red. Since it was on the same arm as the boy's gash the grab had also caused the previous wound to start bleeding again. Asami looked up and gestured to Takeo, "Bring me some ointment and more bandages."  
  
Akihito started to protest but Asami frowned at him. Not wanting to make a scene he shrugged back into his shirt and buttoned it up. He stood, looking back when Asami caught the tail of his shirt, "I'm just going to see what I can capture from the railing."  
  
Asami nodded and let him go, "Are you thirsty?"  
  
Akihito thought for a second and realized he was, "Water, no ice if possible." His stomach growled them and he followed sheepishly with, "and maybe something to eat?"  
  
Asami nodded and pressed a button on the table. A halo-vid of the menu came up; Aki took the opportunity to slip to the balcony. He looped his camera back around his neck. The strap rubbed it uncomfortably but Aki wasn't about to risk dropping the expensive equipment over the edge. First it wouldn't survive the fall. Second it would hurt anyone who happened to be below.  
  
The stages were directly across the dance floor from their table and he had an unrestricted view of the activities and entertainment. The two dancers had been replaced by four people. Two stood on each stage. There was a man in only tight briefs to the left and a woman in a colorful but nearly transparent yukata on the right. Next to each were men dressed in dark lounge pants and no shirts.  
  
Each of the men held long red ropes. Aki snapped picture after picture as the two men tied their respective models up in Ushiro gote knots. He switched between the stages rapidly trying to not miss a single flip of the rope or expression of the models. Once both models were bound the two riggers walked their respective models down the steps leading to the dance floor. They then took the models through the tables.  
  
Aki continued to take pictures as the riggers and the models talked to the Club's patrons. Often people at the tables would touch the models mainly on the ropes bound around the arms, back, and chest, the riggers preventing any inappropriate touches. One man apparently ignoring the rigger's warnings about appropriate participation grabbed the female model's breasts. Bouncers were quick to pull the man from his table and escort him out of the club.  
  
The rigger with her held her close and whispered in her ear. Aki wasn't certain what was said but the model shook her head no and the rigger led her to a new table. Several young women sat at it and they blushed as they spoke with both the rigger and the model. At one point the rigger handed out several cards. The women blushed again and the couple moved on.  
  
"Akihito?" Asami's voice cut through the boy's fascination. Aki turned back to him, "Dinner is here, if you're done with your photos." Aki nodded and bounced back to the table where he carefully stored his camera before sitting down next to Asami. "I'll rebandage that gash before you take any more."  
  
Aki started to protest but the kimono dressed girls had come back on to the stages even though the riggers and the models were still working their way around the floor speaking to patrons and occasionally handing out cards. So instead he asked, "What are those cards they are handing out?"  
  
Asami glanced out to the floor and smiled, "Kinbaku-bi, has a lot of knots and positions. Many will not be explored on the first floor stage. Some of the cards are invitations by the riggers to view the more complex or erotic portion of the art form in the large room up here behind the VIP seating."  
  
"Some of the cards? I get your riggers are vetting people with the tame stuff. I'm glad idiots like that grabby guy won't make it to the back. What are the other cards for?" Aki picked up his chopsticks. Asami had ordered several traditional items for their dinner.  
  
There were plates of tempura fried veggies, bowls of udon topped with Japanese greens, cooked mushrooms, chicken, and fried tofu. Bowls of rice were accompanied by grilled yakitori and shioyaki. There was also a pot of broth with vegetables, small bowls of ponzu, and thinly sliced beef for Shabu Shabu.  
  
"Itadakimasu!" Aki started eating.  
  
Asami watched in amusement; once Akihito had accepted that the cost of food would not be part of the amount he believed he would owe Asami the boy's true appetite had exposed itself. It had shocked Asami at first and he'd been worried that the boy was over eating. Riki-hakese had laughed and reminded Asami of Akihito's favorite activity, parkour. Not to mention the mad dashes he'd randomly take across the roof tops of Shinjuku, Chiyoda, Minato, and Shibuya.  
  
The doctor had promised to let Asami know if the boy's weight gain got out of hand. However, weeks later Asami was happy to stuff the boy full. Even eating like he did Akihito gained little weight. He wasn't malnourished or even overly thin any more, but neither did he sport any real fat. It would have been one thing had he developed a thick physique, but he didn't. For all Akihito put away in food, the boy remained lean with long smooth muscles.  
  
Asami smiled and cooked some of the Shabu Shabu. Aki, loved meat and he knew that if he didn't take some soon he'd get nothing. "The black cards are to invite members interested in watching the art; the white cards are invitations to participate."  
  
Aki's eyes blew wide as two cards were slid across the table towards him, one black and one white. Asami smiled, "I thought perhaps you'd like to see more while you're making your decision."  
  
Aki looked at the cards. The black card merely had the words ‘VIP Viewing Midnight' in white, but the white card had ‘Private Session. Rigger – Asami Ryuichi' in black. Aki's hand reached out for the white card, but he caught himself and pulled the black closer instead. He glanced at his watch and realized that it was already past twenty-three hundred. In fact the midnight viewing would start in about twenty minutes.  
  
Aki quickly finished his meal and downed the glass of water. A Diet member approached the table while he was finishing and Asami rose and went to speak to her. When a club waitress went to take the white card while clearing the table, Aki reached out and grabbed it. He secreted the card into his pants pocket before asking the yukata clad woman for another glass of water.  
  
Aki messed with his camera while he waited; flipping through the photos he'd already taken. He'd paused on one of the woman and her rigger. He had taken it just after her rigger had pulled her into his arms. That had been immediately after the idiot had grabbed her breasts.  
  
Her rigger held her and though the image was a still you could tell he was rubbing her back and arms gently. His total focus was on her. Aki moved to the next picture; after the incident he'd followed the couple with his view finder snapping pictures of each table they'd stopped at before Asami had called him to eat. Even though the Rigger talked to each table his eyes and his hands never left the model. Each gesture and movement centered on his partner. Aki watched the couple in his stills, wondering how the model dealt with being the center of such intense attention.  
  
He reached the last photo he made. It caught the model; she looked up at her rigger with complete trust even while knowing she was at her rigger's mercy. The question Asami had asked to him several weeks ago eased into his mind, "Is that what you want, Akihito, to be completely at my mercy; to know that you were trussed up for my pleasure; to trust that I would never bind you without thought to yours?" Heat pooled in Aki's lower stomach.  
  
Asami didn't know Aki had pulled the soft blue rope from the drawer once, nor did the man know Aki had wrapped it around his own torso carefully lining the rope across his chest like he'd seen in the photograph in Asami's office. The man also didn't know that Aki had become so aroused he'd jerked himself off while wishing the ropes had been tighter; wishing Asami had been in the room with him.  
  
He was certain of this because he'd done it on a night when Asami had worked until past two in the morning. A fact Akihito knew only because he had found he could not fall asleep at night until he knew Asami had reached home.  
  
Asami came back to the table about the time the waitress returned. She carried the requested glass of water and a mini first aid kit. Aki thought briefly about refusing to let Asami redress the scratch, but his arm really hurt so he grudgingly unbuttoned his shirt again.  
  
Asami smirked at him before asking, "What's made you so docile tonight, Kitten?" He deftly rewrapped the bandage about the open cut.  
  
Aki shrugged and hung his camera about his neck, "Figured we shouldn't be late to the VIP event." He laughed then, "Wouldn't look good if the boss man comes in after the show's started."  
  
Asami chuckled, "I suppose it would be rude to the master practitioner that agreed to demonstrate. I would hate to offend Oyakata Tachibana-sensei." Asami finished buttoning Aki's shirt. He stood as Akihito slipped on the jacket and held out his hand, "Come let's go to our seats."  
  
Ahi wasn't asked for his black invitation card. Being with Asami was apparently good enough. The man had his arm about Akihito's waist and he didn't quite know how to rid himself of the blush the warm weight brought out. Luckily the VIP seating area was heavily shadowed and the large room beyond was nearly black.  
  
Still Aki could tell the room was specially designed to showcase the central stage. There were five tiers of tables with short steps between each level. The only light was a single bright white spotlight shining on a small raised teak floored platform.  
  
Asami guided Akihito around several tables and down the slight slope of the room. Each level had a consecutively smaller number of tables. Each set of tables became more exclusive.  
  
The top level, level five, had nearly 30 tables. They were small and bistro like with their wrought iron legs, simple oak tops and matching chairs with padded seats. They could at best only seat three perhaps four if the group sat touching shoulders or one gave up watching the show. The tables at the next level were both larger and set farther apart. While made of the same materials their positions allowed for only about half the number of guests to sit on this level as sat on the first. There were several specialty trained waiters and waitresses for these two levels.  
  
Levels three and two were solid oak. The seats became padded all over with winged backs. Level three shared a waiter or waitress between every two tables, while level two had a server for each table. The table's shapes changed as well. Stating at level three the tables took on the shape of crescent moons allowing for a small space between the table's edge and level's edge where a single person could stand or sit. Each space had a small rectangular pillow between fifteen and sixteen centimeters in thickness lying on the floor.  
  
Level one was obviously for the most exclusive patrons. There were only five tables and each one was teak with large, deeply cushioned, winged back chairs. The tables were deeply crescent shaped with the outer tips of the moon almost touching. These tables also had a waiter and waitress pair for each table. And the interior area could easily hold two people. All the tables were covered in dark grey table cloths padded underneath to mute the sounds of decanters, wine bottles, or glasses being moved around them.  
  
Asami explained the levels as they passed them, occasionally pausing at level to nod or greet a patron. When they reached the first level closest to the stage he led them around the stage and to a table directly opposite the door. Suoh and Toshiro were already standing behind the table's two chairs. Asami gestured Aki into the wing backed chair behind which stood his guard.  
  
Once seated, Toshiro helped him maneuvered the seat until Aki was close enough to the table to reach any thing placed upon it as well as being directly next to Asami. Their chairs were actually touching. Blushing at the closeness Aki attempted to slid slightly away only for Asami to grip the chair's arm and pull it back. Aki was suddenly glad the floors were carpeted or the scraping sound would have everyone staring.  
  
A waiter and a waitress, each dressed in summer Yukatas but bare feet, approached the table and bowed. The woman leaned down to listen to Asami; the male approached Akihito, "Irrashaimase, nani ka sukidesu ka? (Welcome, would you like anything?)"  
  
Akihito startled at the greeting and floundered for several seconds. Asami came to his rescue by ordering for both of them. After the servers left with their order Aki looked over the stage. It was round and set about forty centimeters lower than the level their table rested on. There was a large fifteen to twenty centimeter thick, square, white pillow in the middle of the dark wood. There were small piles of rope set out around the stage in various colors.  
  
Aki looked at his wrist it was five minutes until midnight and he noticed that the tables all around were filling up except the other four on the bottom level. He leaned closer to Asami and whispered, "why are we the only people on this level?"  
  
"Because these are the most expensive seats and after this week, the invitation card only gets you access to the top two levels when seats are free. The tables on levels three and two will go on open auction after the special event that night. Level One Tables will not be available except by special invitation to an auction at the beginning of next quarter."  
  
He then leaned over and spoke directly in Akihito's ear, "Besides I wanted your first time here to be in relative privacy." Aki blushed.  
  
The couple returned with a bottle of bourbon, a carafe of warm green tea and large plate of assorted sweets. The sweet plate was a long rectangle of black lacquered wood. Upon it sat very small bite sized sweets. There was Castella sponge cake, various Yōkan filled with chopped chestnuts, persimmons, or figs, as well as several Taiyaki, fish-shaped cakes filled with red bean paste, custard, or chocolate, and little cups of Coffee jelly. There were also tiny Anpan sweet rolls filled with red bean paste, white beans, sesame, or chestnuts.  
  
Chopsticks and plates were placed in front of both of them and the couple bowed away into the darkness. Aki was too embarrassed by his reaction to Asami's voice in his ear to ask for more water. Asami poured both their drinks and Aki pulled several sweets to his plate. He glanced at Asami noticing he didn't even look at the array of goodies. "Aren't you going to have any?"  
  
"No, I'm not much of a sweets fan." He settled back into his chair and sipped his bourbon, "Peaches are the only one I'll even eat."  
  
"How can anyone not like sweets?" Akihito's eyes grew wide in surprise, "How do you live without ice cream or, or Pocky?"  
  
Asami chuckled, "Quite easily. Unlike you there are several foods I don't like. Have you even met a food you haven't loved?"  
  
"Onions." Aki actually looked like he was about to throw up. "I don't just dislike them. Even thinking about them turns my stomach."  
  
Asami looked at him in disbelief and shook his head, "I've seen you eat onions, I'm sure of it."  
  
Aki laughed, "Nope, much to Megane-san's dismay I won't touch them." Aki picked up a tiny Taiyaki and put the whole thing in his mouth. He chewed for several seconds before swallowing and saying "I will cook with them but only when I can dice them into tiny pieces that disappear during cooking. If I can smell them, see them, or feel their texture in my meal, I have to dig them out and put them to the side before I can eat."  
  
Asami scoffed, "How have I not noticed this?"  
  
Aki grinned as he ate a tiny Yōkan, "Don't know. Though since the contract you've stopped hovering over me while I eat and before that Glasses made mostly soups and stews; onions don't typically survive the cooking process for those."  
  
Asami hummed and sipped his drink again. Akihito took it as a sign the man didn't mind chatting, at least about food and braved a question of his own, "So any favorite food?"  
  
Asami shrugged, "I've traveled across most of the world in my life and eaten most of the cuisine. I've yet to find any I enjoy as much as traditional Japanese."  
  
Aki smiled, "Hum, that must be why Glasses doesn't make anything else when he cooks." Then Aki frowned, "You should have said something! I wouldn't have made that Italian lasagna or the French quiche."  
  
Asami smiled, "I don't dislike foreign food; I just prefer Japanese and I've enjoyed watching you learn to cook new things."  
  
Aki blushed, then he remembered the several times Asami had laughed at his failures and grimaced, "You just like laughing when I mess stuff up. Don't think I don't know you find me funny."  
  
Asami leaned down and spoke into Akihito's ear again, "Not true, I really do enjoy the meals you make. I also enjoy the light in your eyes when you succeed at something new." He reached up and tucked an errant strand of Aki's hair off of his forehead. "But mostly I like being the one to make you smile when I tell you how much I enjoyed them."  
  
Aki was never so glad when the few floor lights dimmed and a couple walked onto the stage. There was no way Asami could see the rising blush on his cheeks. He reached out and stuffed another one of the bite sized sweets into his mouth and turned to watch the show.  
  
Aki thought the Oyakata and his model were mesmerizing. The rigger introduced himself as Tachibana and the young man with him merely as his sunao or submissive. Tachibana was older than Asami with greying temples and beard. He wore dark lounge pants and a silk, short sleeved, button up. The submissive wore only a pair of dark tight boxers.  
  
Tachibana started by choosing a red rope, a traditional, loose laid, three strand jute rope approximately eight meters in length. The model stood on the square pillow and held out his hands inner wrists together. The Oyakata bound the model at the wrists and the brought his hands over his head and behind his neck. He then brought the ropes around the model's body under the chest then back across the right shoulder back around over the top of the chest and back over the left shoulder before winding the rope about the cross pattern of ropes on the back and pulling snuggly so they wouldn't slip.  
  
He helped the model lay upon the pillow face up, bent the model's legs until his knees nearly touched his chest and crossed his ankles. Tachibana took another red jute rope from a nearby pile and tied the model's crossed feet. He then proceeded to tie the model's lower calves to their respective thighs, leaving a small loop of rope at the top of each thigh. The rope left from this exercise was used to pull the model's tied feet up to his chest. And then running the rope through the small loops left on the mode's thighs to further bend the model into the Oyakata's desired shape, before wrapping the remaining rope around the model's feet and pulling them up towards the chest as well.  
  
Tachibana's last act was to roll the model over so that he rested upon his chest and bent legs. Aki could see the additional strain this put on the ropes. Tachibana stood and walked around the model. Every once in a while he would tug on part of ropes. Finally he knelt behind the model and palmed the young man's growing erection through the tight briefs before leaving the stage.  
  
Neither Tachibana nor the model had said a word during the tying. The room had been as equally quite. Now the buzz of conversation rose about the tables. Aki could hear comments on technique. Conversations were being held on how tight or loose the Oyakata had the ropes on certain portions of the model. There were even some arguments about the position being a true ebi or not.  
  
Soon a table on level two asked for a closer look. Four large men in dark lounge pants and tight black shirts descended to the stage and picked up the cushion. Aki could see that it actually rested on a circular wooden table with very short legs. The men took the small table, model and all, into the open space created by the crescent shape of the table. The model spent about three minutes there before being moved to another table for viewing.  
  
After about twenty minutes Oyakata Tachibana returned to the stage and gestured for the men carrying the small table to return his model. Once back Tachibana spent nearly twenty minutes untying and then massaging the model's limbs. He took extra time with the model's arms and wrists. He then led the model from the stage.  
  
Through it all Akihito watched the model. The young man had ignored the sounds coming from around the room and his eyes had usually remained closed. In truth he'd only opened them once after Tachibana had left the stage the first time. It had been when Tachibana had called for him to be returned. Once again Aki was struck by the look in the model's eyes. Overlying the discomfort of his limbs and the lust in his groin was trust.  
  
Even though he was treated to intense scrutiny by strangers for nearly twenty minutes and essentially reduced to an object he had trusted the Oyakata to not only return to him but to untie him and take care of him. Aki was young but not blind. He could tell by the look on Tachibana's face that the young man was not going to be jerking off alone tonight.  
  
Little did Akihito know Asami had not watched a single piece of Tachibana's demonstration, instead he'd spent the entire time watching Akihito. It never ceased to amaze Asami how every emotion the boy felt was so clearly written on his face. Asami could almost pinpoint where in the ebi formation Tachibana was by the look on his boy's face.  
  
Arrival on stage elicited curiosity; unease was introduced when the model's hands were pulled over his head and behind his neck. Though, it left quickly enough, when the model made no indication of pain. Awe joined the mix when the model was finally bent nearly in half in the traditional ebi form.  
  
The unease returned when the model was transported from table to table for closer inspection by the patrons. Asami could tell it was from the intense scrutiny the model was receiving though and not from the bondage itself. No the bondage seemed to hold Akihito in thrall and without really knowing how he knew, Asami was certain it wasn't the ropes or the knots that Akihito was always focused on. No, Aki's eyes always seemed to be trained on the model's face.  
  
Asami leaned over and whispered into Akihito's ear, "would you like to meet them?"  
  
Aki jumped from his intense study of the stage exit ad turned to Asami wide eyed and trembling, "W…w…who?"  
  
"Tachibana-san and his sunao. I figured you'd want to meet them. It is one of their pictures you took such and interest in when looking at them in my office." Asami leaned back and smirked. "And it was interest Akihito, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself yet."  
  
"Um, well," Akihito swallowed, "I do, but" he shook his head before continuing, "Not right now." He frowned then before rushing out, "unless tonight is the only night I can that is."  
  
Asami chuckled, "Tachibana-san and his sunao intend to demonstrate traditional Kinbaku here once a month. We can come back another time." He leaned in, wrapping an arm about Akihito and whispered into his ear again, "Though, I do wonder what it is you want to do instead."  
  
Aki jerked away, or tried to at least. He found himself trapped by Asami's arm. It encircled his waist with his hand gripping his hip. Akihito felt more than saw Asami's other hand raise to cup his cheek. His gaze was captured by Asami's golden eyes. He opened his mouth to protest only to be cut off by Asami's lips covering his own.  
  
The kiss was light at first, lips barely skimming lips. Asami spend several minutes just humming as he barely pressed against Akihito. The buzz traveled through Aki's lips, down his chest, and straight to his groin. Aki's breath hitched and Asami delved into Akihito's mouth with his tongue.  
  
Aki had just relaxed into Asami's embrace when a deep voice rumbled, "Asami, I am highly impressed with your new club. It is not what I would have expected from the people of your island."  
  
Akihito felt Asami still. When the man raised his head his face had become a stony mask of irritation. Akihito started to speak but a sharp squeeze on his hip had him silencing before any words left his mouth. Asami's eyes soften briefly and he gave Akihito's hip a gentler squeeze before saying, "Takeo, take Takaba home."  
  
Kano and Toshiro joined Akihito's head bodyguard as soon as the order was given. Takeo, pulled Aki's chair away as Kano took the camera bag and packed away the equipment Aki hadn't even thought to use during Tachibana's demonstration.  
  
It was done so quickly and efficiently that Akihito had no time to question. Before he could even gather his thoughts, he had been gently pulled from the table and led to the room's exit.  
  
He hardly had the opportunity to look back as he was escorted out. However what he saw on Asami's face as he did take a last glance made him shiver. Asami appeared completely calm, even pleasant on the outside. However his eyes held barely suppressed rage and hatred.  
  
Asami waited until Akihito had been completely removed from the club's special viewing room before acknowledging the man that had approached, "Verräter –san, I was unaware you were in Japan." Truth, since had he known Verräter Aloysius was in town he'd have locked both Akihito and Kaida in the penthouse changing the locks so they couldn't leave and even fewer of his people could get in. He probably would have pulled Takato and Kou into the apartment as well.  
  
There were few people alive that Asami loathed. Mainly because the bulk of them he had disposed of. Aloysius however he couldn't even arrange to be removed. The man was brother – in – law to the head of the Silber family in Germany. The Silber Family was the only German Family with a Jō on the Council, and Silber Elbel was a longtime friend of both Asami's father and mother.  
  
The blonde man smiled with a twist of his lips, "Yes, well Elbel brought me along for the Council meeting. Masumi is ill and unable to attend as his secretary."  
  
Asami nodded slightly, "I will have to inquire with Elbel about her health when I next see him. I take it Elbel passed his invitation for this evening on to you?"  
  
Aloysius's smile grew darker, "Yes, well you know how he is about anything that could remotely resemble torture." The blonde smirked and chuckled, "He's so soft; I still wonder how he ended up as head of the family."  
  
Asami didn't say anything in reply to Aloysius's comment. Elbel was soft hearted but it had been that trait that had made him such a good Family Head for the Silberdrache. The German dragon clan had fought internal family battles for numerous human generations. By the time the Nepolionic Wars had broken out in Europe the clan and main family branches had almost been wiped out. It was Elbel and his soft heart that had saved them.  
  
The head of main family branch Elbel's father had captured the Vurste's only female Fire. She was being tortured to obtain information that would allow Elbel's father to access the Vurste's fortress. Ebel rescued the woman; freeing her from the Silber dungeons and guiding her safely back to her own family. She in turn ensured he was not taken prisoner and joined him in a plea to the Council to remove their fathers as the heads of the individual families and make Ele the head of the Silberdrache clan before it destroyed itself.  
  
The Council was only too glad to agree. Elbel's soft spoken manner and seemingly deference to the other family leaders did make him appear soft to outsiders. However, Asami knew that Elbel was both tough and ruthless when required. He had been part of the group Elbel had asked to help track down his own father and bring the man before the Silberdrache Clan for sentencing. Elbel himself wielded the ax that ended the man's life. Death was the only penalty for killing or harming children of the People.  
  
"Yes, well I hold great respect for Elbel's method of dealing with the world. Was your approach to my table mere formality?"  
  
Aloysius couldn't seem to help glancing in the direction Akihito had been taken. "Formality, Asami, seeing as Elbel could not attend your event." He nodded with a smirk and returned to the darkness that held the table on the second tier Elbel's invitation had been assigned to.  
  
Asami turned to Suoh, "increase Akihito and Kaida's guards. Put more on Kou and Takato as well. I don't want that man within two hundred meters of my youngest mages." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of resources used for creating Kaida's Kimono  
> \------------------------------------------  
> https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/kimono-layers  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono
> 
> List of resources used for creating the atmosphere and terminology used in Club "Tomei Nawa"  
> \----------------------------------------------------------------  
> https://www.ropemarks.com/ (NOT SAFE FOR WORK)  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_bondage#Kinbaku_patterns  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvB7uPVsobg&has_verified=1 (how to tie an ebi - verbal instructions are in German though. :-()
> 
> Other Information used So Far  
> \-------------------------  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_white-eye (the birds in Aibi's Oak Tree)
> 
> I just Googled Japanese Sweets for Aki's treats. A recipe site said that most servings were created to be eaten in one or two bites, especially those that are intended to be eaten with tea.
> 
> The Vegetable Mock Crepes are actually a family recipe all I did was substitute rice flour for all purpose white. You can also make the dough less sticky by adding cold butter instead of water. Mix until it can be rolled out on a cutting board. Sliced into strips it can be used for dumplings


	7. Best Laid Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so SORRY this is late! Please forgive me.

The traditional outfit was heavy. Though, looking at his sister he could tell that his clothing wasn't nearly as thick or heavy as hers. However, other than the two fittings Akihito had never worn a traditional Kimono. The layers were confusing and weighed down on his shoulders and hips. Worse his lack of knowledge about the clothing meant he had required help in putting the garments on. He was still pink about the ears whenever he thought about Asami helping him dress.  
  
First was the fundoshi, a loincloth made of a long piece of white cotton twisted about his waist before being pulled between his butt cheeks with the remaining cloth left to hang from the front of his waist. Next came a white cotton under-kimono shorter than the female nagajuban but which still hung down past Akihito's hips.  
  
Over these underclothes was the silk kimono of light blue. The blue was so light it was almost white and only the clouds and crane feathers embroidered in actual white allowed one to see the difference. Over the kimono Asami had helped put on the hakama, the split skirt or wide legged trousers. This piece was also dyed in the same blue as the kimono but with the clouds and feathers embroidered into only the bottom third of the legs.  
  
The obi holding his kimono closed and hakama at the correct waist height was of a slightly darker blue also embroidered with clouds and crane feathers. Though, on the obi the embroidery was with gold and silver thread.  
  
Like his sister he donned the white split toed socks called Tabi and a pair of formal thonged sandals called Zori. Last Asami had him shrug into a light blue, though darker than his kimono or hakama, Haori, the thigh-length kimono-like jacket that would normally hold his kamon, small white circles that often have the family's emblem sewn onto it in black. Akihito thought they were left completely white since he did not know the Takaba family crest.  
  
The experience of Asami helping him to dress was one Akihito thought he'd never forget. The man had taken great pleasure in running his hands over Akihito's skin as he'd help Aki don each piece. He'd delighted in whispering what each piece was into Akihito's ears. Aki shivered as he remembered the man's baritone breathing warm air into his ears with each word.  
  
Even better or worse, if Aki thought to hard about it, when Akihito was finally dressed Asami had made him stay while the man dressed himself. It had been torturous to watch the man disrobe. Asami had carefully peeled each layer of his day suit from his body. The jacket was followed by the vest and then the Windsor knotted tie. Asami removed his cufflinks and stored them carefully in the jewelry drawers of his armoire.  
  
His slacks came next. The suit pieces were hung separately on special hangers to allow them to air in the large closet before they were hung back on the long rack. Aki had been taught by Kirishima how to mist the garments with the special cleanser to keep them fresh and reduce the need for washing or with some of the fabrics dry cleaning.  
  
Asami had then removed his socks and of all things his underwear. He then walked around the closet in nothing but his shirt. The shirt, like many men's dress shirts, stopped just short of the man's hips on the side and just below the man's crotch and butt cheeks in the front and back. The man's barely clad hips swayed past Akihito several times as he organized his own formal Kimono. It had taken all Aki's will power not to reach out and touch the man's behind as it kept passing back and forth in front of his face.  
  
The Asami had put on his own fundoshi. Akihito knew it had been no accident that Asami had bent over directly in front of Akihito as he reached between his legs to pull the twisted fabric between them. Akihito fled the closet as heat gathered in his groin and flushed his chest and face.  
  
When he'd reached the living area he'd stammered at his sister's question. She'd wanted to know what Aki had found so embarrassing. Damn the man and his insatiable need to tease.  
  
Now however Aki was kind of glad he had the episode in the closet to look back on. The entire limo ride to the meeting place had been full of last minute instructions on what would be happening. The council meeting was the regularly scheduled one for the year's second quarter and therefore all the original agenda items on the list would be taken care of before the new and unexpected item of presenting two non-bonded Radiants would be floored.  
  
Akihito and Kaida would remain in Asami's personal chambers at the meeting location until they were sent for. Asami and Kirishima stressed that the two teens should not leave the room until they were sent for and even then not without the escort of their guards, the number of which had doubled since Asami and Akihito's visit to Tomei Nawa.  
  
Asami had ensured he arrived to the location first. Partially because he was this quarter's host, but mostly because he wanted Akihito and Kaida safely behind the doors to his personal chambers until it was time for them to be seen by the full council.  
  
They had people following Aloysius but the lack of suspicious activity was just as worrying as if he'd displayed some. One thing Asami knew about Aloysius was that when he didn't appear to be up to something it meant he was up to something horrible.  
  
Worse than Aloysius acting the part of a proper guest though were the problems Sion's manufacturing businesses were having with quality of production. The last four sets of parts engineered by the four largest businesses had had a twenty-five percent increase in pieces failing the quality control tests. The Civil Defense Force has ordered an additional forty of the new FAL engines but there was no way Sion would be able to complete the order if the individual parts kept failing the safety test.  
  
The stringent quality and safety Asami insisted on was the government's primary reason for choose his company over others for the engine's production. However if he couldn't produce they'd move on to their second choice and Asami wasn't keen on giving up any business to ABLIC Inc. They had started as a quartz watch manufacturer in the latter half of the Twentieth century before they expanded into semiconductors in the century's last decade. Now they were known as the largest producer of sub-space and inter-stellar engine parts.  
  
Asami's only current lead over them was the fact that they had not yet converted enough manufacturing space over to the newer pieces needed for the improved FAL drives that came onto the market from Mitsubishi Motors one of the first two automobile manufactures to move into subspace engines and FAL travel.  
  
Fast As Light travel was still in its infancy. The first generational ships that left orbit had not even had it. Mitsubishi and Hitachi had actually designed Fast As Light travel as a byproduct of their research into improving the efficiency of the electromagnetic engines in the country's trains. Their scientist having stumbled upon, the previously unknown, key to achieve it.  
  
Now the engines were in hot demand by both the private and military sectors. International shipping companies were clamoring for ships with them and both allied and non-allied countries were clamoring at Japan to export them. Their existence had been a topic at the last United Nations General Assembly.  
  
Japan's government had taken Asami's advice about holding on to the engines as long as possible. He advised they increase their own shipping capacity first before allowing outsiders to utilize their technology. After all, at some point the engines would be reverse engineered by someone and once that happened, not even lawsuits or trade embargos would prevent someone else from making them.  
  
Thus, the order for forty of the new engines by the end of the year was made. The engines themselves were not a problem. Asami's plants had produced enough parts already to build the massive devices. It was the additional request for replacement parts and pieces as part of the maintenance package that was killing him. As soon as the Council meeting was complete he was going to have to schedule an impromptu tour of his facilities.  
  
Kirishima came into the outer room of his private area at the meeting hall. He passed him a tablet with the attendees and their guests on it for review. Asami grimaced once he saw Elbel's party, "I swear Silber-san has lost his mind. What possessed him to bring both Aloysius and Mathias?"  
  
"I don't know. Once I saw I tried to put tails on Mathias but he'd already left their hotel. I've got people looking for him and I put his image out to all the security teams." Kei sighed, "Elbel is getting old. Apparently he has started forgetting things. Masumi told Aibi-sensei that at the last quarterly."  
  
Asami grunted, "May the universes help us if Aloysius becomes the Family head." He stood and straightened his Kimono, "It is a shame Elbel and Masumi's daughter died so young."  
  
"And without any grandchildren," Kei opened the special door leading directly to the Council chamber and bowed, "You should go and greet your guests."  
  
Asami nodded, "Let's get this done; I want Akihito and Kaida back at the penthouse as soon as possible."  
  
Kei nodded and stepped beyond the door to join Kazumi who had been standing on the other side. Both fell in behind Asami as he passed them and entered the cavernous council chamber. It was a round room with a large circular bench along the back with seating for thirteen. All of the council member's private chambers held doors that led directly to their seats on the council bench.  
  
Most of the council had made the meeting in person. Asami had spoken with nearly all of them individually over the past weeks bargaining with time and attention in order to win the needed majority votes he would need to ensure Akihito and Kaida left the meeting with him.  
  
He had secured agreements with the Silberdrache Clan out of Eastern Europe, Elbel having always been fond of him. With Aibi's vote for the Sióg of Western Europe, Arbatov's vote on behalf of the Oboroten' from Russia and Siberia, and Fie Long's vote on behalf of the Tengshe of China Asami was assured of five favorable votes. He was fairly certain that Kavya of the Saanp from South Asia would also vote in his favor.  
  
There were two others he figured he could secure votes from. With that thought in mind he glided across the open floor between the Council bench and the gallery seating. Many of the council members and their entourages were milling about and speaking of matters unrelated to Council business. Asami found the first of his targets waxing poetic to the Beija Flor family rep from Brazil.  
  
The man was of distinct native decent with a squarish face, dark black hair, and deep brown eyes. He was shorter than Asami with a stock build and muscular fingers that would have seemed chubby on anyone else. He wore nearly all white linen with open toed sandals. A green and gold beaded leather circlet rested on his brow. A round leather patch on the circlet's back was sewn with a multitude of pheasant tail feathers Over his chest was large white leather tabard sewn with numerous pink, orange, and green beads as well as many additional feathers. He wore the traditional Otomí attire with pride.  
  
Asami smiled as he approached switching to Spanish, "Hedía, cómo estás esta tarde? (Hedía, how are you this evening?)"  
  
The smaller man smiled and stuck out his hand in greeting, "Ah, Ryuichi, es un placer verte de nuevo. Lo estoy haciendo bien; ¿tú? (Ah, Ryuichi, it is a pleasure to see you again. I am doing well; you?)"  
  
"Estoy bien (I am well)," Asami glanced at the man's companions before saying, "Esperaba hablar con usted en privado antes de que comenzara la reunión. (I was hoping to speak with you privately before the meeting started.)"  
  
The man gestured to his companions who dispersed with nods and smiles, "¿Qué puede hacer esta vieja Iara por ti? (What can this old Iara do for you?)"  
  
Asami switched to English as he asked, "Have you heard of the special addendum to this meeting?"  
  
Hedía nodded and replied, "Yes, my boy, I understand you have found two exceptionally rare children of the People. I am looking forward to meeting them and aiding in finding them proper homes."  
  
"Yes, well I would like to speak to you about what constitutes a proper home." Asami smiled and gestured towards his personal chambers. "Perhaps some cold Sake while we come to an agreement on the definition?"  
  
Hedía's smile broadened and he followed Asami closely as they slipped past the Council bench and beyond Asami's doors, "I'm certain we'll want to use the same one when the matter comes up."  
  
Nearly twenty minutes later Hedía left Asami's chambers with slightly red cheeks and a broad grin. Asami left a few moments after the Otomí leader of the Iara clan confident that he could secure the remaining vote he needed to ensure there were no questions about to whom the teens would be entrusted.  
  
Hedía had surprised Asami by not desiring special treatment or pricing for the new engines he had known the Japanese would be putting on the market the following summer. Hedía had not cared about the engines at all.  
  
Instead he'd haggled over the import of Mexico's Tequila into Japan and export of Sake out of it. Apparently the Japanese Minister of commerce wanted to increase the import tax on foreign alcohol with AVB greater than ten percent. Hedía wanted Mexico's Tequila excluded from that increase. Easily done considering Asami had already spoken to the Prime Minister about the tax already and she was of a mind to ensure the proposal never passed.  
  
With five votes secured and one likely, Asami felt assured his proposal would be met favorably. However he glanced around the council hall and searched for the Kermode clan leader of North America. He spotted the woman in deep discussion with the current leader of Jini out of Saudi Arabia. The short rotund woman with stark white hair and piercing blue eyes was frowning at something the tall thin Arabian woman had said. Asami smiled; he had forgotten the Jini had just voted in a new council member to replace the man that had joined the last generational ship to leave orbit.  
  
The gong sounded announcing the five minute warning that the Council session would start; Asami smiled to the two women and bowed out of the conversation on raw material scarcity. He left the conversation confident he'd secured both of their positive votes. He made his way back to his private chambers meeting both Kirishima and Suoh on the way.  
  
Asami resisted the urge to personally check on Akihito and his sister, accepting their guards' reports that everything was quite even though both teens were restless. He and Kei reviewed the council agenda and Asami filled his trusted second in on the deals he'd made so far that evening. The one minute gong sounded and Asami exited the chamber and took his seat on the council bench.  
  
He noted that more seats than normal were filled in the gallery. Several smaller families whose homes were far from East Asia had apparently made the trip to oversee this quarter's council proceedings. He glanced through their ranks noting that he did not see Vurste Mathias or Verräter Aloysius among their ranks. He almost sighed in relief.  
  
Taimukiipaa Chimon took his customary seat at the raised table on the chamber's eastern wall. His two Miko sat on either side of him with infrared keyboards and halo screens prepared for taking notes. The starting gong sounded and Morihogosha Aibi called the meeting to order.  
  
Business proceeded at an unusually brisk pace. Even though most of the votes' conclusions were well known in advance it was normal for the parties either for or against a proposal to wax poetic on their views. Tonight the speeches were short and on several topics both sides chose to abstain from last minute pleas at all. It seemed everyone was eager to reach the last item on the agenda.  
  
Thus it was the meeting reached the end of its originally planned business an hour before expected. There was murmuring in the gallery and a rise in the room's ambient noise. Morihogosha looked out at the crowd of smaller family representatives. The group had grown as the Council had worked through the agenda items. She shook her head and called for a fifteen minute break. The new Council woman for the Jini seconded the idea and the whole Council voted in favor.  
  
Asami desperately wanted to check on Akihito. The boy's guards had communicated that he was getting restless and had spent the last forty minutes staring out of the window in their room. Asami knew that should Akihito get the idea into his head the best the guards could do, should he make an escape, was keep up with him. However it was important that he spend a few minutes with each of his allies before the upcoming vote.  
  
So instead of moving to his private chambers and kissing Akihito into submission Asami once again moved about the council chambers. He spoke only briefly with Aibi, Ebel, Mikhail, and Liu but much longer with Kavya of the Saanp, Hedía of the Iara, Magena of the Kermode, and Zoya of the Jini.  
  
The one minute gong sounded as he was once again shaking Hedía's hand. The switching between languages had started to wear on his brain and he was exceedingly grateful the Council had switched to English for all official meetings centuries ago. Asami sat signaling to Suoh to accompany the teens from his chambers to the Council hall as Chimon and Aibi reconvened the meeting.  
  
Akihito stared longingly out of the wide ground floor window. The traditional garden beyond it almost called to him. He had already nearly filled his camera with photos of the place bathed in the full moon's light. He just knew that photos from inside would be spectacular and he wished he'd known about this place when Aibi-sensei had assigned him to find locations that be felt would evoke "wonder".  
  
However, the garden beyond his window was currently off limits. Asami had promised to bring him back the following night to capture it more fully, but tonight he was to stay inside the room he and his sister had been placed several hours before. At first he'd been able to pass the time taking the photos from the window. Then he and Kaida had played card games and even a round of Shiritori.  
  
Aki checked his wrist realizing that Kaida had won that game nearly thirty minute ago. He sighed again and rose from the window seat to join his sister on the long narrow couch in the middle of the room. Neither had eaten or drank anything since arriving. Both worried they wouldn't be able to get back into their garb should they have to visit the facilities; now however Aki's stress over the meeting and boredom had brought his body's attention to the lack of food.  
  
His stomach growled loudly causing both his sister and their guards to laugh. Takeo his lead guard crossed the room and smiled down at him, "You should eat something."  
  
Aki shook his head, "If I end up having to visit the toilet, I'll never get this thing back on correctly."  
  
Takeo shook his head. "We'd help. We're all used to wearing them." He picked up a pair of chopsticks and pressed them into Aki's hand, "Eat. If only so you don't pass out on us. Asami-sama would never forgive us if you did."  
  
Aki only grunted in response as he reached for one of the bowls of rice with his left hand while picking up a bite of Bincho Sashimi. He glanced at Kaida as she moved and noticed she had picked up a bowl of the Miso Soup. The food had arrived nearly an hour ago but the Sashimi was still cool and the soup and rice were still steaming. Even the stir-fried veggies had stayed the perfect eating temperature.  
  
Aki held his hand above the narrow table in front of their couch. On the end the sashimi and seaweed salad had been placed the table was cool almost cold as he moved to the middle where the stir-fry, yakitori, and shioyaki were stacked the table became warm until it was nearly hot where the rice and soup had been sitting. Aki realized then it was a modified buffet table with both the water cooling and induction heating elements installed.  
  
Aki nearly grunted in annoyance. Even hours from the penthouse Asami ensured everything was perfect. Still as the first slice of raw Albacore slid down his throat Aki was secretly glad. His stomach was making approving noises. He settled down to eat occasionally offering their guards some. As expected the men and women declined.  
  
After nearly ten minutes of consuming the delicacies in front of him Aki slowed down his eating. He leaned back on the couch and glanced about the room. His and Kaida's guards had been joined by an additional ten the day after Asami had taken him to Tomei Nawa. Usually their guards dressed in dark slacks, dark shirts and dark jackets. None of their regular guards wore suits or ties. Which was a blessing for Aki's group; he still had a habit of just sprinting away from them for an impromptu Parkour run. Aki used the exercise to relieve stress, whenever he thought he saw a good photo spot, or just when his brain was too full of chasing thoughts. This meant Aki's guards also wore black tennis shoes instead of the casual loafers Kaida's sported.  
  
Tonight however they all wore dark versions of the same outfit Akihito wore even the female guards. Their Kimono and Hakama were completely black as were their Tabi and Zori. The five Kamon however had foxes embroidered into them. Each fox however was slightly different, one was curled asleep and one was jumping. Another was eating while a fourth was running. The one on the center Kamon however sat on its haunches poised with its left paw raised.  
  
All the foxes were stitched with black thread, however in the center of each forehead was a set of five swirling comet like symbols. Each was a different color, red, blue, green, grey, and gold. Aki couldn't help but think it was a symbol he'd seen before he just couldn't remember from where.  
  
He'd just set his thoughts to figuring it out when there was a knock on the door. He and Kaida both looked up to see Kazumi enter. He smiled at them before talking softly to both Takeo and Ohta.  
  
Kaida sat forward and smiled, "It is time?"  
  
Kazumi nodded, "They are ready for you yes." He looked at the two teens; Asami's assessment of their state of minds was spot on. The girl rose and stepped into the open space between the seating area and the room's exit. There she paused opened her arms and wait almost regally while the two dressers placed the expensive Uchikake about her. She was sure of herself and confident the following minutes would result in the outcome she desired.  
  
The boy however took several moments to even rise from the couch. Once on his feet it was clear from his stance he had not quite made up his mind about attending the meeting or not. His was almost walking on the balls of his feet and while his path took him towards the door his eyes continuously glanced at the large window leading to the building's interior garden.  
  
Kazumi shook his head before saying softly, "Asami will be sitting at the bench with the other councilors. Just remember you don't have to say anything you don't want to or speak to anyone you don't want to."  
  
Akihito glanced at the head of Asami's security; then said, "But if I'm rude to them they might not vote with Asami."  
  
Suoh paused; the young man was a keen observer even if he was a spitfire when it came to his security detail. That paired with the number of times he'd watched Akihito go toe to toe with Asami had almost made Suoh forget just how young the boy was. All the spirit the boy exuded when facing their Jō was dimmed at the moment though.  
  
Suoh reached out and squeezed Akihito's shoulder, "Trust, Asami, Takaba."  
  
Akihito just nodded; he didn't really look convinced. However he moved to stand next to his sister and took her hand. Kaida smiled at him before saying, "Well let's go show them what we're made of."  
  
Aki nodded and Suoh let them out of the room. Their guards formed around them twenty men and women became a barricade between them and others loitering in the hall. However it didn't prevent the people loitering from following the entourage down the hallways and through the double doors leading to the council chamber.  
  
The room was enormous to Akihito. A large round area of parquet wooden flooring containing a map of the world split a long curved raised bench of thirteen people facing a large two story gallery containing what felt to Aki like hundreds of eyes. Voices started murmuring and groups whispered and pointed at them. Kaida's chest swelled at the attention, reveling in the fact every eye was looking at them. Aki felt like ants were crawling all over him.  
  
Asami watched the teen's vastly differing reactions to the response of the crowd had to their entrance. He'd stupidly forgotten how much Akihito hated people looking at him. This situation was even worse. These people weren't just looking; they were actually judging. He glanced at Aibi who nodded in understanding.  
  
She knocked the small gavel she rarely had to use on the bench, "Our guests are not zoo animals, people. Now, come to order so that we may continue with the business at hand." The crowd quieted and she turned to Akihito smiling, "Welcome to the quarterly meeting of the People young Radiants."  
  
Kaida and Akihito bowed and introduced themselves. Asami caught Aki's gaze as he stood straight attempting to infuse his gaze with confidence. Akihito visibly relaxed as Asami held his eyes then nodded to Asami's unvoiced question. Yes, he could deal with the situation; he wasn't panicking yet.  
  
Aibi spoke again, "Young Radiants. The purpose of your attendance today is to ensure this council has properly evaluated your needs and aided you in picking a Jō that can not only see to those needs but also become the conduit through which you can channel your powers and grow them while protecting you from the potential harm you could cause yourself and others."  
  
She paused checking if either Kaida or Akihito had any questions; when neither indicated questions she continued, "It is to this end that we have picked several Jō for you to meet and consider for bonding with. From these you can pick as many as you feel compatible with and the council will then determine which will attempt bonding with you."  
  
At that Kaida shook her head, "We know who we want to bond with, Ma'am. I doubt that introduction to any other Jō will change our minds."  
  
Aibi smiled at that statement, "Very well, it is within your rights to suggest a Jō of your own choosing."  
  
Kaida looked at Akihito then and he nodded before saying, "We wish to bond with Asami Ryuichi."  
  
Aibi nodded with a small smile, "Then I propose we vote on allowing Asami Ryuichi to bond with these young People." She looked down the bench for a second.  
  
Asami glanced to his left where Mikhail was opening his lips to second the proposed vote when a weak voice from the far end of the bench spoke first. "I object."  
  
Asami just held his growl as he looked down the bench to Elbel Silber. He didn't understand how the man could have betrayed their agreement. He tried to catch the old dragon's eyes only to realize he was staring at Kaida's face. Naked longing backed by soul wrenching sadness shrouded the man's face. Asami barely heard Elbel whisper, "Aria"  
  
Behind him Kirishima gasped, but before Asami could ascertain why Elbel's secretary stood and spoke, "Madam Chairmen, as the council knows these teens have no documented biological parents. The Silberdrache proposes their DNA undergo the standard testing for humans wishing to be turned. While we understands that these children have already been turned the tests will reveal their ancestry as well as the Jo for which are most suitable for them to bond. We believe that these actions will reduce the likelihood of failure and stress on their psyche."  
  
Wekesa of the Mpisi seconded Elbel's idea. Mikhail spoke up then, "I still second the idea of voting on our host attempting the bonding now."  
  
Asami almost wished Mikhail had not seconded the original proposal. Now that two opposing proposals had been tabled the first would have to pass with more than a three quarters of the council members for it or the decision defaulted to the second proposal. However, the deed was done. He could tell as Aibi brought the gavel down that she too wished Mikhail had not been so eager to show support for Asami.  
  
She cleared her throat and then said, "Very well, all in favor of allowing Asami Ryuichi to attempt a bonding this evening vote 'Aye'. Remember a vote of 'Nay' on this proposal is a vote of 'Aye' to wait until DNA testing is completed and the results are presented at the next quarterly meeting in September."  
  
Like all votes they spoke their choice from east to west along the bench. Arbatov of the Oboroten' representing Russia and Siberia voted 'Aye'. Fie Long of the Tengshe representing China voted 'Aye'. Kavya of the Saanp representing South Asia voted 'Aye'. Asami of the Kitsune representing Japan voted 'Aye'.  
  
Aibi of the Sióg representing Western Europe voted 'Aye' as did Hedía of the Iara representing Mexico, Central & South America. It was the Chullachaki chief, Chuva, also representing Mexico, Central and South America that voiced the first 'Nay'.  
  
There were both 'Aye' and 'Nay' votes from the representatives for North America as well with Magena of the Kermode for Asami and Fala of the Ohawas for DNA testing. These vote were followed by three 'Nays' one each from Vikal of the Ebu Gogo representing Australia and Indonesia, Wekesa of the Mpisi representing Africa and the Persian Gulf, and of course Ebel of the Silberdrache representing Eastern Europe. By the time it got to Zoya of the Jini who also represented Africa and the Persian Gulf, Asami had already lost the vote.  
  
During the entire process Asami had watch Akihito. He tried to keep his frustration from his face knowing the boy would read it and come to the worst possible conclusion. Akihito remained a bewildering mixture of powerful spirit and vulnerable insecurities. The Silberdrache request had started the spectators murmuring again. Akihito slowly went white and Asami could tell by the way he glanced fervently about the chamber that he was seeking escape.  
  
Kaida was desperately trying to formulate words. She looked a Kei pleading with her to remain calm and she took a deep breath. She had asked him to take the leap with her several days before and he'd done so. The least she could do now was trust in him and by extension Asami. Nodding she turned to Aki, intent on keeping her head and preventing any negative reaction. Aki, however, had already moved past the panic griping his muscles. Anger settled across his features.  
  
Asami mentally willed Akihito to look at him, to reach for him, and to trust him. Akihito was raising his head when Elbel's secretary spoke again, "We also propose the Radiants be moved to Interim Housing guarded by a conglomerate of the People during the coming months so that other Jō are better able to make their acquaintance."  
  
"I second the motion." Wekesa once again responded before any other councilor fully thought on the matter. Asami glared at them. The whole thing suddenly felt rehearsed and he wondered what Wekesa was getting to support the Silberdrache.  
  
The thought had taken his attention from Akihito who spoke before anyone else could. "NO!" He shouted his denial unconsciously adding his innate power to the word. The air about him rippled like the surface of water disturbed by a thrown pebble. It was strong enough that several of the member of the gallery were nearly knocked form their seats and the guards about him and Kaida were forced to brace themselves. Hedía's ornate headdress of pheasant feathers was pushed to the floor.  
  
Everyone in the chamber became quiet and all eyes turned to Akihito. Asami tried to will the boy to look at him again. However they were not tied together as Jō to Mage nor as lifemate to lifemate. The control Asami had temporarily gained by taking some of Akihito's blood several nights ago had long worn off.  
  
Akihito felt the need to look at Asami. He shoved the feeling away with a mental curse. He should never have let his guard down should never have started hoping he and Kaida had found a safe place. He had been stupid, again. It happened every time, just when he'd start believing in someone the universe would rip out from under them.  
  
He closed his eyes fighting the need to turn to Asami again before saying the utter calm infusing the council chamber, "Stop discussing us like we don't understand. We're not objects and we're not children." He ran his gaze across the council members skipping Asami as he went. "You do not decide anything for us." He flexed his right hand as bright white light pooled in its palm. "We are leaving."  
  
Aki focused the small white light cracking with condensed energy at the chambers exterior wall and let it loose. The building shuddered as the energy broke through the wood and stone. He took Kaida's hand while raising a wall of light and air between the two of them and the resulting backlash of debris before plunging the whole building into darkness.  
  
Everyone in the building had been forced to shield their eyes from the blinding light Akihito had released and the backlash of force combined with the sudden blackness the boy had caused prevented any from seeing where the two teens had disappeared to. Aibi, Asami, and Kei were the only three people who reacted without shook or panic.  
  
While Aibi worked to restore order to the council chamber both Asami and Kei slipped into their fox forms and sprinted out of the hole in the wall. If Asami had not been filled with terror over Akihito and Kaida being out in Tokyo with no protection or bonded Jo to help Akihito keep himself from scattering, he would have been chuckling at the boy's display of power. He shoved those thoughts aside for the moment though and lowered his nose to the ground seeking his lifemate's scent.  
  
Aki all but dragged his sister around the building, through the garden, and to the window he'd been staring through less than an hour before. He paused and worked the window's latch free from the outside. He helped Kaida through the large opening and then out of the layers of clothing that covered her.  
  
Once they reached the Nagajuban he started pulling on his own outfit. He glanced at the wrist computer he still wore and calculated they had about ten minutes before someone thought to check the building's rooms. He turned in enough time to catch the pair of jeans his sister threw at him and was once again grateful that Asami had decided to bring both of them a change of clothes. Though he doubted the man had thought they'd be using them to escape.  
  
Kaida was stuffing their under kimonos into her backpack as Aki pulled on his tennis shoes and spoke, "We'll leave out the window and over the garden wall."  
  
His sister paused as she zipped her bag, "Then what?" She looked up at Aki, "We go back to living on the streets?"  
  
Akihito glanced at his sister while putting his own backpack across his shoulders, "Would you rather stay here and let a bunch of strangers control us? Would you rather go back to another foundation home like 'Second Chance'." He looked at the floor then, "because if you really want that, I'll do it."  
  
Kaida slipped her own backpack on before crossing the space between them. She took one of his hands and squeezed it until he looked up at her. "I want to give Kei and Asami a chance. What do you want?"  
  
Asami and Kei had followed their lifemates' scents around the building and through the garden. When he realized the trail led back to his own chambers he smiled and reached out to Suoh ordering him to bring their bodyguards back to the room. He and Kei arrived at the large window in just enough time to hear Kaida and Akihito's exchange.  
  
They paused to catch Akihito's response. The boy was silent for several seconds before he whispered, "I want to trust Asami." Asami released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding and leapt through the window followed closely by Kei.  
  
Both teens turned and then stepped back in shock as the two largest foxes they'd ever seen leapt through the open window. The larger of the two was completely black; its fur darker than pitch but somehow shining in the moonlight with glowing gold eyes. The other was colored like traditional Japanese foxes red fur across its body and face with black tipped paws, tail, and ears. Its eyes were dark grey like river pebbles.  
  
Aki reflexively pushed Kaida behind his body and stood between her and the possible new threat. He stared into the black fox's eyes as he backed them nearly to the room's door before questioning what his mind told him he was seeing, "A… A… As… Asami?"  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you haven't figured it out yet. Asami and his crew are Kitsune.  
> His "people" are actually all of the creatures and beings typically associated with the folk and fairy tales of their respective regions. While most of these are not important after this chapter I thought I'd share with you the background of the setting. 'The People' as they call themselves collectively are all super natural beings original charged with the care of the natural world. that purpose as explained in earlier chapters was warped by 'The People's own internal conflicts as well as by their associate with humans. Below is the breakdown of what myths I choose to keep for each region and the actual council.
> 
> The People  
> North America  
> Were Hawks, Were Cyotes, Were Kermode Bear & Were Ravens  
> Central & South America  
> Botos, Iara, Acalia, & Chullachaki  
> Africa & Pursian Gulf  
> Were Hyenas (Mpisi), Jini, Peri, & Tikoloshe  
> Eastern Western Europe  
> Elves, Dragons, & Werewolves  
> Russia  
> Werewolves, Dhampir, & Zmei  
> Asia (South and East)  
> Dragons, Weretigers, Nāga, Kitsune, & Kirin  
> Australia & Indonesia  
> Yowie, Mimi, & Ebu Gogo
> 
> Sióg - Gaelic word for Fairy  
> Oboroten' - Russian word for Werewolf  
> Tengshe - Chinese flying Dragon  
> Saanp - Hindi word for Serpent
> 
> The Council of 13 (+ voted for Asami, - voted against)  
> +Arbatov of the Oboroten' - Russia and Siberia  
> +Fie Long of the Tengshe - China  
> +Kavya of the Saanp - South Asia  
> +Asami of the Kitsune - Japan  
> +Aibi of the Sióg - Western Europe  
> +Hedía of the Iara - Mexico, Central & South America  
> -Chuva of the Chullachaki - Mexico, Central & South America  
> +Magena of the Kermode - North America  
> -Fala of the Ohawas - North America  
> -Ebel of Silberdrache Clan - Eastern Europe  
> +Zoya of the Jini - Africa & Pursian Gulf  
> -Wekesa of the Mpisi - Africa & Pursian Gulf  
> -Vikal of the Ebu Gogo - Australia & Indonesia
> 
> Some of the resources used to create the "The People"  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou  
> https://www.lifedeathprizes.com/spooky-stuff/scary-south-american-folklore-monsters-54751  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Brazilian_legendary_creatures  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Central_African_legendary_creatures  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chullachaki  
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiritori


	8. Friends, Lovers, and Lifemates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Actual chapter!   
> I hope I didn't lose any comments doing it this way.
> 
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To tired for notes this time! I'll try and get my references for this chapter in the next post. Sorry!

Kaida stepped from behind Akihito with her own question, "Kei?" She knelt and the smaller fox though still larger than his sister crossed the room to lie at her feet. Kaida tentatively reached out and stroked the warm fur.   
  
Asami followed his secretary's path stopping directly in front of Akihito. Asami as a human had stood a head taller than Aki, at an almost perfect height for Aki to tuck himself under the man's chin when they stood together. His fox however nearly dwarfed the teen. His fox form's shoulders were no higher than Aki's however the longer neck and larger head meant that Asami had to actually bend when he rested his cheek against Akihito's silver locks.  
  
Aki leaned into Asami's furred chest as he shifted. It was an almost seamless process. One second a larger than human black fox all but towered over Akihito's form. The next Aki was surrounded by warm arms and pressed against Asami's hard, muscular, very human, chest.   
  
Aki breathed deeply. He'd known the fox had to be Asami because it had smelled like the man. Tabaco smoke, sweet alcohol, and cloves filled his senses. The smell combined with Asami's deep baritone whispering into his hair and the warm hands cradling his head and rubbing soothing circles on the small of his back drained away all the tension the evening had built in him as well as the spurt of adrenaline his earlier anger had granted. Any use of his power was tiring and he had used a lot of power in the council chamber. As Asami's smell relaxed him Aki suddenly felt exhausted.   
  
He longed to lean completely into Asami and allow himself to forget the previous hour in the council chambers. However, he couldn't. He had run away from Asami and from Asami's council even if he hadn't gotten very far. While not in direct violation of their contract it was opposite of what he'd promised. Worse he'd caused damage to one of Asami's buildings; he hoped he hadn't actually hurt anyone. He took another deep breath and apologized, "I'm sorry." He tensed in preparation for Asami's response.  
  
Asami raised his head and looked down at Akihito certain he had heard wrong. What could boy believe he'd done that required an apology? He moved his hand from the back of Aki's head to cup his cheek and tilt the boy's head up until Asami could see his face.   
  
Once again Asami was glad Akihito had never been able to hide his emotions even if those emotions were ripping at Asami's own at the moment. The boy truly felt remorse, for what Asami still didn't know. However under that was fear. Not the mild fright one might get from a jump scare either but utter terror. The kind one feels when faced with situations or persons that one believes he has no hope of overcoming. It was the kind of terror that drives a person to their most basic response, flight. Asami could feel Akihito's muscles tense and the boy had unconsciously risen to the balls of his feet.  
  
Asami cursed himself again. He should have thought through the meeting from Akihito's point of view. The boy had only recently begun to trust in the teen's new living situation. He'd only just started relaxing and had only just stopped evaluating every action and gift as part of agreement he'd made with Asami for his sister's sake. The boy had even started working with his guards rather than against them in past few days.   
  
What had Asami done to repay the boy? He'd shoved him into the one situation where he'd be most uncomfortable. He'd put the boy on display just like a zoo animal; which even Aibi had admonished everyone that boy and his sister were not.   
  
Akihito's actions displayed the trust Akihito had proclaimed he wanted to give Asami that the boy had not run immediately. Instead he'd waited, believing that Asami wouldn't let anything happen to them, only running once events reached the point he could no longer ignore his doubts.  
  
Asami knew he was to blame for Akihito's current fear, but Asami never apologized for mistakes. He barely admitted he made them, except to himself. He'd already told Akihito that once. No rather than talking about them Asami fixed them. He looked into Akihito's eyes and asked, "What are you apologizing for?"  
  
Aki whispered again, "For running away. For damaging your building." He took another deep breath asking, "I didn't hurt anyone did I?"  
  
Asami smiled down at him, "No you didn't hurt anyone."   
  
Akihito relaxed a little at that statement, "I'm glad." He looked away from Asami's eyes then, "Still I am sorry about the damage I caused. I guess it won't be easy to fix. I guess you'll need to add the cost to what I owe you." He tried to smile. The upturned lips were forced and he struggled to extract himself from Asami's arms.   
  
"I don't know how I'll pay you though. The council intends to send us somewhere else."   
  
Akihito's whole body shuddered with that statement. Memories of the Second Chance Foundation along with others he knew were from before the Takabas crowded his thoughts. He squeezed his eyes shut unaware of the low pained moan that escaped his throat.   
  
Asami picked Akihito up as Kaida reached for her brother. Kei returned to his humanoid body and gathered her to his chest telling her to trust Asami. Kaida looked worried but nodded as Asami carried her distraught brother to the couch. She watched as Asami sat with Aki in his lap and pulled the collar of her brother's t-shirt to the side gasping when Asami's canines lengthened just before he bit Akihito's shoulder.  
  
Kaida watched as Asami feasted on her brother's blood. She leaned heavily against Kei's chest in fascination. She had traded blood with Kei several times since they first started sleeping together. She was aware that she was different since they'd started. Kei had assured her it was normal among their people for couples to drink each other's essence.   
  
She had not put a lot of thought into the act. Biting Kei during sex was just something that happened, usually brought on by her need to mark Kei as hers. Kaida knew how possessive she could be. It was one of the reasons she'd convinced Akihito to run from the foundation home once she learned what he'd been doing to protect her. Her brother was hers. He was hers to protect, hers to take care of and was hers to love. He belonged to her as much as she belonged to him.  
  
So, she understood her own need to mark Kei as hers as well as Kei's need to mark her.   
  
Kaida also knew Aki belonged to Asami. The older man was the first person Kaida didn't mind sharing her brother with and he smelled like the cloves Aki loved so much. It had been that reason she'd questioned Aki's decision to run this time. She might not be able to explain why, but she trusted these two men. She believed they were her and Aki's home.  
  
She turned in Kei's arms though while Asami marked her brother. Kei leaned over and whispered into her hair, "He's not hurting him." She looked up and smiled, "I know. It's just," Kaida paused, "too intimate to watch."  
  
Kei chuckled. He bent down and kissed her before whispering, "I'm fighting the need to mark you myself."  
  
Kaida smiled as she looked back at him, "Don't."  
  
Kei shook his head; Kaida surprised him again. He responded with, "I would but we're about to have several more people in the room with us, and like you said it is rather intimate to watch. To my knowledge I'm not an exhibitionist."  
  
Kaida laughed quietly, "Hum, I guess not." She glanced at the couch. Asami had finished and was now just holding her brother. She looked back at Kei, "I'm sorry we ran, but Aki was too panicked for me to talk to in the council chamber."  
  
Kei tucked a strand of the hair falling across her face behind her ear as he responded, "Don't be sorry; I promise you Asami is already berating himself for putting the two of you in that situation." He glanced at his Jō, "Neither of us knew the leader of the Silberdrache would renege on his deal with us."  
  
Kaida frowned as she shrugged out of her backpack, "deal?"  
  
Kei nodded, "the Council is just like any other government body. The real votes happen in the back rooms as parties come to agreements and deals. Usually the Council and most of the leading families know if a proposal is going to pass weeks before the actual voting is done." He led Kaida back to the couch, took her pack, and set it on the floor before finishing with, "It is why the Silberdrache betrayal is so surprising; none of the council has ever gone back on a deal with Asami."  
  
Asami looked up from Akihito's face at that. He'd only taken enough blood so he could put the boy to sleep. He growled at Kei's last statement, "I don't think Elbel was thinking. He was looking at both Akihito and Kaida strangely just before he objected." He pulled the backpack from Akihito's shoulders setting it next to Kaida's before adjusting his lifemate in his lap so the boy was able to rest more comfortably.  
  
Kei nodded as he pulled Kaida down next to him on the couch, "He mentioned his daughter's name as well. I'm not certain why. Both she and her lifemate were lost nearly twenty years ago when their vehicle spun out of control on the winding roads of the Carpathian mountains."  
  
Asami nodded, "I remember attending the funeral. Her lifemate was from one of the Hokkaido families wasn't he?"  
  
"Yes, a fire and a concert pianist, he and Elbel's daughter met at one of the man's international concerts. Aria was a powerful Jō and boded with the man immediately. They were inseparable after that." Kei stood and crossed to the room's door.  
  
He reached for the handle as someone knocked. Kei opened the door to Suoh, Ohta, and Takeo. The three men entered and Kei shut the door quickly behind them. Suoh glanced at both teens and relaxed visibly before addressing Asami, "We left the rest of the guards with Morihogosha-sensei. She needed people to help regain control of the room."  
  
Asami nodded then started issuing commands, "Suoh, I want you take Akihito and Kaida to the safe house near…" Asami's instructions were disturbed by a knock on the room's window. Everyone tensed and turned to see who had interrupted.  
  
A lean man with incredibly long black hair leaned through the large open window. He smiled and shook his head, "I know I wasn't about to hear you tell your men to hide these two lovely Radiants from the council, Asami." He swung his body over the window ledge and landed on the other side of the low bench sitting under it. He crossed the room, his smile growing softer when he noticed how tense Kaida grew at his approach. He raised his hands and shook his head, "There is no need to fear me Radiant." He turned to Asami then, "Morihogosha is busy reminding the lot in the council chambers that these two aren't property and that it was only out of courtesy they waited on the council meeting to attempt bonding with you."  
  
He shrugged then, "needless to say the whole room is in an uproar. The lessor families are accusing you of several misdeeds including brainwashing and being the person that turned these lovely Radiants."   
  
The man laughed at the utterly murderous look that clouded Asami's face. "Well you have to admit that you were rather secretive about their existence at first. If I didn't know you better I'd have to wonder at their existence myself."  
  
Asami growled at that point, "What do you want Fei?"  
  
"To offer my help of course. You're not going to be able to hide them away now, Asami. Some of the lesser families in your own territories are clamoring for the opportunity to be on the list of Jō to try and bond with these two before you get a chance." He frowned then, "really you should exert more control over them. They are salivating at the thought of overtaking you with these children's power."  
  
Kaida frowned then, "Aki and I would never help them. We belong with Asami."  
  
The man Asami had named Fei smiled at her, "Hum, I'm glad you believe so. It will make the bonding much easier. However, don't be fooled into thinking that some of them won't force a bond if they get the opportunity." He looked at Asami again. "Morihogosha has convinced the whole group that they can all wait until the list is prepared for next meeting. She's proposed, and it was accepted by the council that a special session be held during July's new moon. I proposed it could take place in Hong Kong and that I keep your Radiants with me until then. Mikhail seconded the idea and since no one set any other options forward it passed."  
  
Asami pulled Akihito closer, "I'm not sending my lifemate to Hong Kong, Fie. Especially since Vurste and Verräter are sniffing around Tokyo."  
  
The man shook his head, "Even more reason to send them. Aloysius will stick out in my territory much more than yours. My people hate him."  
  
Kei interrupted then, "That is all well and good Fei Long, however, you more than anyone should understand our reluctance to sending them to the care of another Jō."  
  
The man nodded but never took his gaze off of Asami, "Yes, but you can trust me. You protected my lifemate and my fire when Aloysius had them. You sacrificed your own men to bring them back to me." He captured Asami's gaze, "Let me repay that debt."  
  
It took several minutes but Asami finally nodded, "My men will accompany them though."  
  
Fei nodded, "I suggest they join us after we leave the premises. Otherwise the other Jō will believe it is just a trick. They can meet us at the airport and travel with our group on my private jet. Yoh will guard them until then."  
  
Asami looked down at Akihito, "I need you to wait outside while I speak with them."  
  
The long haired man nodded before exiting the way he came. Kaida noticed him paused and speak with another man before leaving the window. The man nodded at her and then turned his back to the window and looked over the garden.  
  
Asami gathered Akihito against him and whispered into his hair. Akihito cuddled closer blinking up at him in confusion as he woke. He'd been dreaming again. He couldn't remember the contents but he woke both confused and slightly aroused.   
  
Asami captured Akihito's eyes. He felt the boy's semi-hard penis poking at his stomach. The boy had been rubbing against him in his sleep, something he did often when at the penthouse. Were they not beset by the annoying position the council vote had put him in he would have carried Akihito into the bedroom beyond one of the room's interior doors.   
  
Asami, while not always truthful with humans nor particularly respectful of human laws, never directly crossed decisions of the council. He had made back up plans should the vote fail to go his way. All the council's current decisions about Akihito's and Kaida's housing did was slightly postpone them.   
  
Asami shook off the urge to bond with the two teens before sending them off with Fei Long. He knew the two were his. The past weeks had done nothing but strengthen then initial feelings he'd had for both. Instead he took several minutes to assess Akihito's physical and mental state. After all he was about to ask the boy to trust him as he sent him away. It would be a test of Akihito's ability with what Asami knew was a foreign feeling to the boy. How Asami wished it wasn't. Worry hardened his features.  
  
Akihito watched Asami's eyes. Several times they flickered across Aki's face. Each time they stopped at Akihito's eyes. Akihito couldn't turn away. Part of his brain said he should check how his sister was. However, the same part reminded him that she was with Kei and that the older man would cut his own arms off before hurting, scaring, or even scowling at Kaida. So the larger part of his brain was left with only watching as Asami inspected him. His skin started to crawl again.  
  
Asami's eyes were hard with thought. Aki couldn't remember a time the man had looked at him like that. Had he underestimated the damage Aki had caused? Akihito knew that often Asami could seemingly read his men's minds. Had Suoh come here only to tell Asami Akihito had actually hurt someone? He hadn't meant to. Akihito tried to look away; he pushed at Asami's chest. He wished the man would smirk at him or accuse him of acting like a child again annoyed Akihito hadn't obeyed him. Aki want Asami to be anything but angry.  
  
Asami shook his head as Akihito started trying to escape his hold. The boy was making him go daft. First he forgot to account for the boy's potential response to the council meeting to begin with and now he'd allowed his thoughts to stray into worries that Akihito had clearly misunderstood as they clouded his features. The boy's natural smell was quickly being over powered by the slick stench of fear.  
  
He had no bond with Akihito. Had he been the boy's Jō he'd have had the same mental awareness of surface thoughts that he had with all of his mages. Had they been mated or even just blood bonded he would be able to read Akihito even when he wasn't conscious of his own thoughts. However he didn't have either of those things at his disposal. He was going to have to get Akihito to tell him what scared him in this instance.  
  
Akihito felt Asami loosen his hold and took it for the chance it presented. He all but fell to the floor as he ripped himself from Asami's arms. He did land on the floor when he tried to leap from the man's lap.  
  
Kaida gasped and almost rose as she yelped, "Aki?!?" Kirishima held her down however nodding at Asami as he prevented her from reaching for her brother.   
  
Akihito shook his head as he rose to his knees, "I'm ok Kaida." He glanced at Kirishima asking, "Kei-san, could you take Kaida out to the garden?" his eyes glanced at Asami, "I need to talk to Asami-sama alone."  
  
If Kirishima noticed Akihito's formal reference to Asami he made no mention of it as he stood nodding, "Certainly, Akihito-san."  
  
Kaida almost protested but a glance at Asami and Kei held her tongue. Asami's face had gone blank but Kei's was filled with worry. She had never felt conflicted about who she should support before they'd met these two enigmatic men. Now like the day they'd met she was torn between supporting whatever her brother was about to say and an incessant need to smooth away the wrinkles forming on Kei's brow.   
  
Aki looked at her; he smiled and Kaida felt him tell her to go with Kei. It was heart wrenching. Whatever it was that Aki had determined he had no plans to include her. For the first time since they'd awoken together in the small mountain orphanage Aki was pushing her away.  
  
Akihito spared Kaida a glance so she would understand he wanted her to go. He had to fix the mess he'd obviously caused. It was his mistake and his powers that had harmed people; he wouldn't allow her to be pulled into any resulting punishment. Asami wasn't an unreasonable man, irritating and too full of himself on most occasions but never unreasonable. He nodded at Kirishima, gazed at his sister one more time, and then turned and faced Asami again.  
  
Kaida allowed herself to be pulled into the adjoining room, but she paused there and leaned against Kei after he closed the door. "He sent me away?" She looked up at her lover, "He only ever does that when he thinks something is dangerous." Kaida gripped Kirishima's robes in her small fists. "Kei, why is Aki frightened of Asami-san?"  
  
Kirishima wrapped his lifemate in his arms, "I don't know, Kaida. I do know that it is misplaced. Asami-sama would die before harming your brother."  
  
Kaida nodded, "I know that. It isn't Asami I'm worried about; it is Aki." She leaned into his chest, "Can you tell me what is happening? Who was that offering to take us to Hong Kong?"  
  
Kei pulled Kaida to the bed the room held and pulled her down, "I'll explain, but only while I'm holding you."  
  
Kaida glanced back at the door, "Kei, no, they'll hear! I thought you weren't an exhibitionist?"  
  
Kirishima laughed as he tugged Kaida's shirt over her head, "Asami has predilections not suitable for over hearing when he's engaged in bed. Therefor he ensures all the bedrooms in his establishments are sound proof once the doors are closed. He wrapped his arms about her bare chest pulling her breasts to his mouth before whispering against them, "The only one that will hear is me and you."  
  
It was taking all of Akihito's will power to keep his limbs from shaking. He knew they would alert Kaida to the fact he was terrified. So, as soon as the door clicked shut, Aki lowered his head to the floor the act folded his legs under him and stilled his arms. "I'm sorry; I promise I didn't mean to hurt anyone."  
  
He ignored the gasps of Suoh and his and Kaida's guards. All of his attention was riveted on Asami. His thought crowed with speculations about what punishment harming a member or even just a guest of him council would merit. He was so focused on the response he was waiting on that he didn't see Asami gesture the guards out of the room nor the frown that Asami allowed to grace his face this time.  
  
Asami didn't know what thought process had led Akihito to kneel. However the boy had knelt into a dogeza leaving his head pressed to the ground. Asami leaned forward, ran his fingers through Akihito's hair, and then asked, "What have you done to apologize for Akihito?"  
  
Aki wanted to lean into Asami's touch but instead held himself still or at least as still as his now trembling muscles allowed. He replying as if he'd not heard Asami's question, "Kaida had nothing to do with us running and she didn't use any powers or harm anyone. Just me. When you seek retribution for what happened, please remember that. It was only me."  
  
The fingers in his hair tightened. Asami tugged on his locks growling, "Akihito, look at me."   
  
Aki looked up and Asami pulled his face towards him. The tug on his hair stung as Asami used it to haul Akihito into his lap. Aki watched the man's face darken as Aki allowed the man handling without fuss.   
  
Asami, already irritated at the rest of the world over the evening's events grew increasingly frustrated with his lifemate. The boy was only ever docile for two reasons. One was if he was too frightened by external stimuli to be aware Asami was controlling him. The other was whenever he tried to deflect what he perceived as negative attention from his sister.  
  
Not that Kaida ever did anything warranting physical punishment. The worse the girl had ever done since joining Asami's household was scramble off with her guards without telling him where she was going or how long she'd be out. Besides for all of Asami's teasing he was fully aware that Akihito and Kaida were not kids. They were young, but not children and as Akihito often reminded Asami they were capable of making their own decisions.  
  
So Akihito's current actions worried and angered Asami. He man handled Akihito back into his lap this time with Aki's knees on either side of his hips. Aki placed his palms against Asami's chest but didn't resist the tug on his scalp as his face was brought closer to Asami's. The boy kept his eyes firmly focused on Asami's chest.  
  
"Don't look away from me, Akihito." Asami growled the instruction and felt Akihito stiffen. Asami was pleased for the few seconds the boy's spirit revived. His pleasure was short lived however. He felt Akihito's minute shudders return as his eyes slowly rose to meet Asami's.   
  
Asami's heart clenched when Aki finally met his gaze. The boy was terrified. It was clear he was expending a large amount of energy just trying to hold himself still upon Asami's lap. Anger curled in his gut; Asami wished he had any other place to direct it than himself. He'd cursed himself again for allowing self-confidence to overshadow all the possibilities he should have accounted for.  
  
Asami brought the hand holding Aki's hair around to cup his cheek. His heart ached when Aki flinched. He breathed deeply before asking quietly, "What do you think you need to apologize for?"  
  
"Ich wollte es nicht. (I didn't mean to.) Ich wollte niemanden verletzen. (I didn't mean to hurt anyone.)" Aki had closed his eyes when he started whispering. He shuddered as he repeated the German. It was like he was afraid Asami wouldn't believe him and only repetitive insistence of his intention would get through. "Ich wollte niemanden verletzen. (I didn't mean to hurt anyone.)"  
  
The German was no longer new. Neither were the statements the boy repeated. They had started with his almost disastrous tree top nightmare on the night Tomei Nawa had opened. Since then Ali woke from nearly every nightmare repeating the phrase.   
  
  
  
Asami had asked his wind what he thought of the events. The man had in turned reached out to a colleague in the psychology department of Asami's hospital. Their combined response was that the boy was probably not dreaming so much as recalling repressed memories. Humans would repress traumatic events out of self-preservation often unconsciously shoving their thoughts and feelings about the events into the deep recesses of their minds even while actively working on extracting themselves from the situations in the moment. Humans repeatedly put in such situations, like soldiers during battle, or humans thrown into situations directly opposite their normal daily routines, like survivors of air bus or train crashes, often found that they would forget portions of the events themselves only to have those memories crawl into their thoughts with little warning.  
  
Psychologist has coined a phrase in the twentieth century still used for the symptoms; it was call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Originally classified as psychological condition brought about as a result of serving during battle, they know new that people from all walks of life could suffer from the ailment. The mind often brought such memories out when it otherwise felt safe. Some psychologist had fielded the idea that the brain's higher functions were attempting to classify and compartmentalize the events in an effort to evaluate and create safety measures to follow should the event ever happen again.   
  
The human psyche however often didn't respond as planned. People with PTSD found themselves reliving the moments, unable to regulate the memories to the past or evaluate them objectively. They instead felt persistent mental and emotional distress often accompanied by flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the initial event. Many that suffered had specific triggers for their symptoms, however there were many that did not. Some even slipped into their episodes both randomly and when prompted by unrelated events around them.  
  
Asami had spoken to the psychologist himself while trying to determine if the man could be trusted to provide Akihito treatment without frightening him further. The psychologist was completely human and Asami wasn't certain that Akihito would be able to receive the care he needed if he could not talk about also being one of the People. It was for this reason Asami had not taken the boy for evaluation.   
  
The boy didn't need to be labeled with any psychosis not related to his trauma and Asami doubted that any human would believe them should one be told Akihito could bend light. Riki was looking for a trusted psychologist of the People for this reason. That, however, was stymied by the fact that those Winds would belong to other Jō.  
  
For now Asami was attempting to take the human psychologist's advice and walk Akihito through his symptoms without medical intervention. The German Aki had started speaking the past few day had changed things, opening up a line of inquiry into Akihito's and Kaida's past that until now had been closed.   
  
Asami had originally decided to wait and use the almost fugue state Akihito entered when he started speaking it to probe until after they were bonded as Jō and Mage. It would have provided him with the connection to detect Akihito's surface thoughts and most prominent emotions allowing him to know when the state became too stressful and aid Asami in pulling the boy out of one.  
  
Tonight's events, though, precluded any thought to taking a slow approach to seeking out the teen's pasts. Asami needed to know what, if any, link the two had to the Silberdrache clan and if that connection involved Verräter Aloysius. He had noted the man's eyes following Akihito as the boy had been escorted from their table in Tomei Nawa. The lack of any approach by the man or his minions since did nothing to ease Asami's mind.  
  
He bent forward until his and Akihito's foreheads touched and murmured his next question in low tones, almost as softly as Akihito repeated his litany of 'I didn't mean to.' "Akihito, wen hast du verletzt? (Akihito, who did you hurt?)"  
  
"Die Ärzte, die Techniker, .... Meister. (The doctors, the technicians,....Master.)"  
  
Asami stiffened at the word 'Master'. It had been what the lessor families had required their turned humans to call them early on. The Lessor families insisted that the turned humans were less than natural born children of the People. The same families often subjugated those turned treating them as lower life than even their non-turned human counterparts. After all they had claimed turned humans were unnatural in both worlds and required firm control.  
  
He set aside his distaste for the word and sought out the reason for Akihito's mind state. "Wie hast du sie verletzt? Was hast du gemacht? (How did you hurt them? What did you do?)"  
  
"Ich habe sie verbrannt. Ich wollte es nicht. Ich wollte nur, dass sie aufhören. (I burned them. I didn't mean to. I just wanted them to stop.)" Tears were leaking from Akihito's closed eyes and he shuddered against Asami's chest.  
  
Asami stroked his back, "Warum würdest du das tun? Hör auf was? (Stop what? Why would you do that?)"  
  
"Kadia schrie. Sie verletzten sie. (Kadia was screaming. They were hurting her.)"  
  
"Wo, Akihtio, wann? (Where, Akihtio, when?)"  
  
Akihito looked up at those questions pushing against Asami's chest until the man allowed him to sit back enough to really look at each other. His eyes were tear filled, but Asami decided they were filled with more sorrow than fear when Akihtio answered, "Berchtesgaden, nördlich der österreichischen Grenze. (Berchtesgaden, just north of the Austrian border.)"  
  
Asami captured Aki' gaze, "Wussten Sie, dass Sie Deutsch sprechen? (Did you know you are speaking German?)"  
  
Shock briefly crossed Akihito's face before he shook his head. He replied to that question in Japanese. "Sorry, when I think about it consciously I can't string more than a few words together."  
  
Asami reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes before asking, "You told me you had no memories from before the Takabas and the orphanage."  
  
Akihito looked back at his chest. "No, you asked what memories I had from before them. I chose not to tell you this one." He shuddered again before whispering, "I don't want Kaida to know what I did."  
  
"And what is that? What do you think you did that causes you nightmares sometimes in the middle of the day?"  
  
"I killed them." Aki tried to escape Asami's arms with that statement fighting to free himself while refusing to look at Asami's face.  
  
Asami merely yanked him forward and wrapped his arms about his arms and shoulders preventing him from escaping. He murmured "it will be ok" and "everything will be alright" over and over into Aki's hair.   
  
Aki stilled then pressed his face to Asami's neck with a full body shudder before crying out, "I killed them. They were hurting Kaida. She was screaming my name and I couldn't take it anymore. So I lashed out with my light and killed them." He sobbed and tried to burrow into Asami's neck as he asked, "What kind of monster am I that I could kill people?"  
  
"Sush, you're not a monster, Akihito." Asami reached up and took Aki's cheeks in his hands forcing the boy to meet his eyes, "You were a child, too young to understand the strength of your powers."  
  
Aki shook his head, "Not true, I wanted them dead." He choked out, "I hated them for what they were doing to her,……..to me." His hands unconsciously clutched at the collar of Asami's Kimono and lowered his eyes.  
  
Asami went back to stoking Akihito's back, "What were they doing to the two of you Akihito?" Aki stilled and all the color drained from his face. He shook his head as he glanced up and Asami took the opportunity to capture his eyes again, "You clearly believe you've committed some crime. You've already asked that I punish you this evening. I have to know how and why the crime came about before I can pass judgment."  
  
Aki couldn't tear his eyes from Asami's. He couldn't tell what Asami was thinking but the tone the man had used left little it the way of refusal. He prided himself on only telling the truth when pressed for information. It was part of his penance for the worst of crimes. He had taken lives. Though, lies were superfluous in light of that offence, Aki felt he couldn't afford any more black marks to his soul.  
  
He swallowed and started out whispering and stuttering his words. "The… e…The….they hit us… an…an..and wouldn't feed us until we did things, gross things. And one of them would cut us so that we'd bleed. It felt like we'd be left like that for days. No food, no water just bleeding while they watched us."  
  
Asami listened as Akihito's voice grew in strength and smoothed out. He held his expression neutral as the boy spoke of the atrocities visited upon him and his sister as children. Not once did his face betray his inner rage.   
  
After the first few sentenced he'd started stoking Akihito's back gently and rhythmically. He continued as Akihito spoke about the days he and Kaida would be tied or chained to cold stone walls before being whipped across their small backs and down their legs and then locked in complete darkness. He didn't even flinch when Aki mentioned the doctors that would poke and cut them attaching them to monitors before electrocuting them or filling their veins with strange drugs and then standing around and discussing the children's reactions.  
  
Asami's body and face remained stoic and undisturbed as Aki recalled the rapes and the beatings. It was Akihito's last confession that almost broke his facade, though. He barely held back an angry moan when Aki shakily confessed to believing he deserved the brutality of his early life. The perpetrators had told him he's existence had killed the Master's favorite lover.   
  
He wasn't supposed to have existed. The group of scientist had believed the weaker of the two fetuses was terminated early on and had only provided enough nutrients and attention for the birth mother to carry one child to term. His birth was more than the woman could survive; it had almost been more than his sister could survive.   
  
"It is my fault Kaida's not been allowed to be happy. Karma is punishing her for my choices." Akihito's voice had grown hallow as he listed out the horrors committed against him and Kaida. By the time he'd transitioned to what he believed were his own transgressions it had lost all inflection.   
  
Asami pulled Akihito to his chest and held him flush against it for several minutes once the boy was through. Finally he took a deep breath and gently eased Akihito back until they were looking at each other again. Akihito's eyes held nothing more than weariness. There was no spark of pride or fear of retribution just bone deep tiredness shone from the deep pools of blue. It was as though Akihito had been hallowed out with no care for if he would ever be filled again.  
  
Asami knew that whatever he said next could either start Akihito healing or break the boy permanently. "You are forgiven."  
  
Confusion filled Akihito's face, "Wha…What?"  
  
"You are absolved of your sin." Asami started stroking Aki's back again. "Forgiven."  
  
"I…I don't understand. Asami, I killed them, they are dead." He jerked from Asami's grasp and stood. His arms flailed about gesturing to the side like he was pointing at the world or perhaps at the German castle the events happened at.  
  
Asami reached out and captured his boy's hands, "Tell me Akihito, what punishment do you deserve? Beatings? Torture?" He paused shaking his head, "If even only half of your memories are true, you've been punished enough. You were punished long before you committed any sin."  
  
"But…" Aki continued to shake his head 'no'.   
  
Whether Akihito shook his head in disbelief or disagreement Asami wasn't certain. "You believe I should punish you?"  
  
The teen nodded, "I hurt people, Asami. Not just in Germany but here in your meeting."  
  
"You didn't hurt anyone here, Akihito. Is that why you believe I should punish you?" He thought he'd told the boy no one had been harmed.  
  
"But… Suoh-san was frowning and you….." Aki tried to look away from Asami then.  
  
Asami caught his face asking, "I what?" He frowned deeply when Aki shook his head no again. "You want me to punish you, Akihito. I won't do that until I understand why you think you need me to."  
  
"You got so silent and grim you only get like that when you're really mad." Akihito shook his head in confusion, "If I didn't hurt anyone then what did I do to make you so mad? Are you angry we ran away?" He gripped Asami's robes again, "I'm sorry, it wasn't Kaida's idea. She'd just used to going with me. It was me."  
  
"I thought I told you, 'you didn't hurt anyone'," Asami sighed, "but you still believe you should be punished, if not for tonight then for earlier. You still intend to throw yourself in front even a nonexistent firing squad. You'll take anything as long as you are protecting Kaida, huh?" Akihito didn't seem to hear him; instead concentrating on staring a hole in Asami's robes.   
  
"Fine." He pried Aki's hands from his robes and pushed him to his knees on the floor in front of him. He gripped Akihito's chin and captured his eyes, "If I do this I want it understood that you are done. No more punishing yourself and no more throwing yourself into danger out of some mistaken belief you deserve to be hurt because of your past."   
  
Aki nodded. Asami ran his thumb across his boy's bottom lip. "This is going to hurt. Do you want something to bit down on?"   
  
Aki thought for several seconds before asking, "What are you going to do?"  
  
Asami tugged the teen's shirt over his head, replying with, "I'm going to brand you." He stroked Aki's chest gently before pressing two fingers over the boy's rapidly beating heart. "Right here above your heart so that you see it every time you change clothes. My mark burned into your skin to remind you that you've already been punished, by me."  
  
He glanced back into Akihito's eyes, "it is going to hurt." He glanced around the room before gesturing to the narrow Obi Aki had discarded when he'd changed clothes. "Get your obi and bring it here."  
  
Aki rose, grabbed the belt and then returned to stand in front of Asami. He trembled not quite believing he was about to let Asami do this. Asami seemed to catch his trepidation and asked, "Are you sure you want this?"  
  
Aki shook his head as he whispered, "No, yes, I don't know. I murdered them."  
  
Asami sighed and pulled him down to his knees again taking the belt from Aki hands. "You don't know about the branding but you do feel you haven't been punished." He folded the cloth as he spoke, "You will when I'm done and going forward I will decide when you've done something deserving punishment. Agreed?" He held out the belt neatly folded into thirds.  
  
He waited until Akihito nodded, "Open your mouth." The belt was technically too thick to go between Aki's teeth. Asami pushed and shoved it between the boy's lips, though, until he was certain it had moved Akihito's tongue back far enough he couldn't bite the muscle.  
  
He then pulled his own obi free and tied the boy's hands behind his back, "I'm only tying your arms so I can prevent you from jerking around in pain. I can hold you but I don't want you hurting your arms or your hands flailing while I do this. Understand?"   
  
He paused after turning Akihito back around to face him, "Nod if you understand, Akihito. I will not have any misunderstandings here."  
  
When Aki nodded Asami scooted to the edge of the couch and using his left hand on the boy's right bicep brought Aki up onto only his knees before him. He then wrapped one of his legs tightly around the boy's upper legs trapping them between his right leg and the edge of the sofa locking his own bent leg in place by wrapping his left leg around his right ankle. Next he moved his left hand to the back of Akihito's head, his fingers entwined in the boys silver hair and forced the boy to look him in the eyes. Only once Aki's total focus was on Asami did the man raise his right hand to the boy's bare chest.  
  
Aki didn't feel anything at first and almost thought that Asami had been just testing his responses. Then the world went white as blinding pain bloomed across the left side of his chest. He instinctively flinched from the flames he knew were running across his skin, but he'd never been able to escape Asami's hold when the man didn't want him to.   
  
He would have closed his eyes yet he found he couldn't look away from the man burning his skin. As painful as the branding was Asami's eyes grounded him preventing him from succumbing to the physical sensations. He knew he should be screaming but the belt wedged between his teeth prevented him from opening his mouth any and his tongue was unable to move enough to articulate even the primal sound his brain wanted to make. Tears pooled in his eyes and just about the time he was going to pass out the pain stopped and something cool was surrounding his abused skin.  
  
Asami hated the world at the moment. Everything was happening backwards, though perhaps it shouldn't be surprising with Akihito. Life was in reverse for the boy. Children were supposed to be born from love. They should be coveted and almost coddled at the ages his boy and his boy's sister were mentally, physically, and sexually terrorized. It was no wonder they had forgotten those days once they escaped; by rights they should be psychologically warped by what happened to them.   
  
Perhaps Akihito was warped beyond the ability to properly compartmentalize the horrors done to him or the actions he'd been forced to utilize in order for them to escape. Asami honestly didn't know if what he was doing to the boy would help, but he'd needed to mark Akihito as much as Aki needed the supposed punishment. Asami needed the boy to relinquish his self to him even if it was only in part.   
  
Asami was determined his lifemate would never have to suffer through self-recrimination again. If someone harmed Akihito or Kaida in the future it would be Asami that meted out the resulting retribution. As long as it was in his power Akihito would have nothing but happy memories going forward.  
  
He made the vow to his self as he carefully drew the foxes over Akihito's heart. One large one burned into the skin with silver nitrate ensuring it would remain black going forward laying wrapped around another smaller fox burned and scared with fine white lines. Any other member of the people would know exactly what Asami had burned into Akihito's skin.   
  
It was not a mark of punishment but a clear mark from one's lifemate to another. It was something that typically didn't happen until the lifemates had traded enough blood to form the permanent bond. But like learning about the horrors of the world happened first for the boy it seemed his bond with Asami would also happen backwards.   
  
He started the healing process for the burn seconds after he drew the last line. He carefully alternated cooling the skin with warmth to prevent the healing process from warping the brand into an unrecognizable scar. The whole process took nearly thirty minutes though the initial branding had only taken a couple. Akihito passed out a few minutes after Asami had started the recovery.  
  
He adjusted Aki's lax form, first untying his hands and rubbing them to ease any discomfort being tied so long could leave. The he turned the boy in his arms until the teen was leaning against Asami's chest with his back. Asami lengthened his fingernails and drew one down his own left wrist deep enough to ensure the blood was free flowing. He pulled the obi from between the boy's teeth and raised his wrist to Aki's mouth gently whispering into his ear, "Drink."  
  
His earlier partaking of Aki's blood gave him enough control to nudge Aki's slumbering thoughts into the need to drink from his lifemate. The boy latched onto Asami's wrist and grasped it with both hands as he sucked on the open wound. Asami allowed the boy to drink greedily not stopping him until Asami started to feel the loss of blood.   
  
He commanded Aki to sleep again and gently lowered him to lie across the couch and settling the boy's head in his lap before calling out to the man he knew to be still standing in the garden just beyond the open window. "I assume you over heard?"  
  
Yoh appeared in the center of the round opening as he replied, "Yes, I will ensure Fie is aware of the situation. We will take care of him as if he were our own Asami-sama."  
  
Asami nodded and beckoned the man into the room. He waited until Yoh was standing in front of him before speaking again. "I want to send my other two young mages with you."  
  
When Yoh didn't comment he continued. "Kaida is friends with them and Akihito needs people his own age around him beyond his sister. Tao is too young for Akihito to as anything but someone he should be protecting. My lifemate needs friends," he paused then said, "and it will get the two of them out any cross fire Aloysius may being preparing."  
  
"We'll protect them the same way you protected us Asami-sama." Yoh said bowing.  
  
Asami smiled at that, "Tell me truthfully, how are you handling being that drake's lifemate?"  
  
Yoh smiled, "He is exactly as you described him when you sent me to work for him so many centuries ago arrogant, vain, and egotistical. However he's also compassionate, loving, and strangely vulnerable to praise."   
  
Asami laughed at that. His friendship with the eastern dragon had started with the man attempting to throw him out of Hong Kong. It was a story he was certain Akihito would appreciate someday. He stroked Aki's hair again. "Call Fei back I want to introduce them."  
  
Yoh's face went distant. While he was communicating with his lifemate Asami reached out for Suoh who he knew had gone back to the council chambers. The man's was already reaching for his Jo. Aibi had brought order to the chamber but the council itself still wanted Akihito and his sister brought back before them so they could attempt to convince the teens to abide by their wishes.  
  
Fei's seemingly quick return to the chambers had enabled the group to guess the teens were hiding in Asami's chambers. The group was clamoring for Aibi to send a collection of the other council member's guards to fetch the two Radiants back to the chambers. Asami sighed and called Suoh back telling him to communicate to Aibi that Asami would do his best to convince the teens to return but that he wouldn't force them.   
  
He reached out and summoned his Fire and other Water at the same time. He needed to impart certain instructions to them before even remotely trying to talk Akihito or Kaida into speaking with the Council again.   
  
At the same time he notified Kei that he and Kaida needed to return to the main room. He picked up Akihito's shirt from the couch cushion next to him as several people entered the room at once.   
  
Kaida crossed the space between the bedroom and the couch immediately. Asami noticed her hair was no longer wrapped in the elaborate bun she'd been wearing with her kimono. It now lay down her back in a long braid. She sat at Aki's feet and stared at his chest for several seconds before raising her eyes in question to Asami.   
  
He shrugged in reply, "He needed it and I wasn't about to send him to Hong Kong without my mark." She smiled softly at that raising her hand to her neck and glancing at Kirishima with a blush.  
  
Suoh's eyes just widened at the mark upon the boy's chest. The age difference was unusual for their People though not without precedence. His own parents had been separated by several centuries and Kei's father had settled for a political match for his first mate not even searching for his lifemate until nearly a century had passed after Kei's mother's death. There were other examples but normally the paring was closer in age like Fei Long's and Yoh's, lifemates only physically apart by three years.   
  
Takato and Kou entered the room immediately behind Suoh followed by Akihito and Kaida's guards. The whole group paused at the sight before bowing in understanding. The guards spread out along the walls while Takato and Kou followed Suoh to stand behind the couch as Fei followed by Mikhail, Aibi, and the Silber secretary.   
  
The woman that had tabled an alternative to Asami attempting a bonding with Akihito and Kaida on behalf of her Clan leader frowned deeply, "This is preposterous." She turned on Aibi, "You must propose strong measures be allowed to remove these children from his influence Morihogosha." She gestured to the brand resting on Akihito's chest. "There is no way this boy is Ryuichi Asami's lifemate. The boy is far too young."  
  
Aibi smiled in response, "While it is unusual it is not unheard of for lifemates' births to separate by centuries." She crossed to the couch and knelt next to Akihito's head stroking it before looking back at the woman. "He is Asami-sama's lifemate as such Asami is well within his rights to initiate a lifemate bond. He does not need the council's permission for this."  
  
"This whole situation is unprecedented, Aibi." The Silber rep argued then turned on Asami, "You more than anyone should have waited until the tests were back. It would have only helped you." She scoffed then, "At least if this was true."  
  
"really, the Silberdrache would have me send my lifemate would have me send my Earth's lifemate into foreigner care with not even the assurance of the lifemate bond?" Asami glared at the woman, "Tell me madam, what would you advise Elbel to do if anyone had the audacity to request he had done the same with Masumi?"  
  
The woman paused glaring with that question then sighed, "I would have advised he bond with Masumi before even presenting her to the council."  
  
"And yet I waited. I waited with faith that the partnership even I should dare say friendship established over centuries of trade and serving on the council together would be respected." Asami shook his head, "Instead your leader, no your whole clan, turned on me. Worse you denied two mages of the People their due. These Radiants only came to the council because I persuaded them. I convinced them the council would listen to their wants and only provide guidance where they needed it. You returned their trust in the process by denying them their right to attempt bonding with their Jō of choice."  
  
The woman shook her head, "that is not what Lord Silber was doing." The woman growled, "Lord Aloysius warned us you would try to convince us these Radiants wanted to bond with you when they didn't even know they had any other choices. You've obviously kept their existence from the People for years and now that you have them trained to follow you, brainwashed by you, you go through the motions of allowing the Council to 'help' them decide." She spat at Asami's feet, "Lord Silber is overly distraught you've been keeping potential grandchildren from him. Tell me Asami-sama, how is you have come into possession of his daughter's near twin?"  
  
Asami glanced at Kaida. The teen had her eyes closed and was shaking her head in denial. He pulled Akihito onto his lap, arranging him so he slept with his head on Asami's right shoulder with right arm tucked to his side and the left hanging behind Asami's shoulder so Kei could sit next to his own lifemate and comfort her. No one missed Akihito's hand sliding from Asami's shoulder to lie over his heart. Asami smiled down at him and tucked a throw about the teen's body.  
  
It was Mikhail that spoke in the silence the woman's accusations left. "You honestly believe the Ryuichi Asami would kidnap or otherwise hold against their will any child of the People? That he would steal the child or grandchild of another Jō. Do you not know the history of our council members or are you just glupyy (stupid)?"  
  
Before the woman could respond he continued, "Has the Silberdrache forgotten when the separatist inside the Jini raided the Council meeting in 1458? Asami and his elder sister were just two of the children taken by the group. Do I need to remind you how they forced the children to bond with their Jō? Did you forget the number of Waters, Winds, and Fires that the bond failed with? Do you know the number of children permanently scarred by those Jō pulling on their power with little or no control?"  
  
Mikhail scoffed, "Considering what happened to Asami's sister I am personally shocked the man didn't at least try to bond with these Radiants council be damned."  
  
The woman shook her head, "I am new to the Silber council group; I have never heard this story."  
  
Fei spoke then, "Let us enlighten you then. The children that the Jini Jō could not bond with, even through force, were locked in their deepest dungeons. Among them were both Asami and his sister. Otome was a Sanrantaru, a powerful Radiant the Jini separatist strongly desired to control." He sneered at the woman then "They believed that even not bonded to one of them that they could still control her powers. They starved her and her brother, but instead of control they caused her to scatter."  
  
The woman gasped and looked back at Asami with sympathy; scatterings were something every member of the People were taught about during their compulsory educations. Questions warred on her face and it was Asami that answered the woman's most pressing one. "No, Otome's scattering wasn't quick. My sister faded over several weeks giving me her life energy until she was translucent. I was too young to form a bond with her and the Jini had taken her thousands of miles from our father."  
  
He felt Akihito tighten his arms about his chest; he glanced down to see tears in the boy's eyes. He smiled and gently wiped them from Akihito's cheeks before continuing, "You don't have to believe me and frankly I couldn't care less what your personal opinion about is. However, I will go to hell and back before I ever allow another Radiant to go through what my sister did."  
  
He captured Akihito's gaze then, "I would never force a Mage to serve me, I will protect the ones I have with my life and I will never allow anyone to harm my lifemate."  
  
Akihito wasn't certain how much time had passed since Asami had branded him. He'd woken as the man had moved him about on his lap, but had all but resisted the urge to snuggle closer to the smell of cloves. His only movement, after being tucked under the man's chin, was to drag his hand to rest over Asami's heart.  
  
He'd intentionally kept his eyes closed and body lax as one of the strange men in the room berated the woman that had proposed to the council he and Kaida be removed from Asami's home. The story that followed nearly broke his heart. Asami understood. The man had been subject to some of the same atrocities he and Kaida had ben and while Akihito didn't wish such terror on any being even in the past he did feel better about accepting Asami's form of atonement.   
  
Perhaps, since Asami knew what the terror felt like, it was ok if Akihito allowed the man to control Aki's penance. Perhaps, it was ok for Aki to believe that Asami's branding of him was punishment enough.   
  
Asami shook his head at Akihito's thoughts and sent across chastisement for even thinking he might not have been punished enough. _Remember Akihito you agreed only I can judge and punish you now. You have paid for their deaths; stop resisting what is allowed to happen now._  
  
Akihito's eye's widened and he sat up abruptly asking out loud, "Why can I hear you in my head?"  
  
The German woman gasped, "Wait, he can speak with you telepathically?" She shook her head in disbelief.  
  
Akihito glanced at her. He was sitting in Asami's lap shirtless with the man's brand all but screaming for everyone to look at it. Yet, for the first time he didn't feel like ants were crawling over him. Neither the woman’s gaze nor the gazes from the room’s other occupants disturbed him. He looked the woman up and down before turning back to Asami and growling, "Just what did you do, bastard?"  
  
Asami chuckled and started slipping Akihito's shirt back on him. He was careful not to linger or touch the boy in view of their guests but he made sure Aki felt the caresses he wanted to give the boy through their lifemate bond. He knew the images he sent across were received when Aki turned the most delightful shade of red just before throwing off Asami's hands and tugging the shirt on the rest of the way himself.  
  
"He initiated a lifemate…" the woman started only to have Akihito turn his glare on her.  
  
"I don't recall asking you anything." He turned his back on her and glanced at Aibi frowning, "Aibi-sensei what are you doing kneeling on the floor?" His glare turned back to Asami, "Why doesn't Aibi-sensei have a seat?"  
  
Aibi laughed and rose to her feet saying, "Don't give your lifemate a hard time, Aki-kun. I only knelt to check on you. You were all but passed out in Ryuichi-kun's arms when we arrived."  
  
The woman snorted, "Aloysius is right you have lived to long on this island. How you are still the head of the Sióg clan much less the representative for Eastern Europe on the council amazes me."  
  
Akihito opened his mouth to snap at the rude woman but Aibi beat him to it, "I believe that is quiet enough out of a council secretary. You should remember that your presence is only allowed out of courtesy and any council member can ask you to remove yourself should be found lacking in manners." Aibi glared at the woman who had the sense to at least try and look abashed. Aibi then smiled at Akihito, "Now, I believe I shall return to the council chambers and inform them that you, your sister, or perhaps even both of you will return and provide your answer to the Council's suggestions after you've deliberated them."  
  
"Suggestions?" Akihito didn't remember the council making any suggestions or asking his or Kaida's opinion about anything. He looked over the people in the room realizing that at least two of the other strangers were also council members. He started to feel the ants again. His skin crawled and he shifted towards the edge of Asami's knees.  
  
Just as quickly the feeling was replaced by Asami's hand rubbing across his skin. Unlike the crawly feeling he wanted to escape Aki found himself mentally leaning into Asami's touch. The hand stopped over his heart and pressed against the brand there. Oh! Aki turned to look into Asami's eyes and up on turning realized that the hand he felt was all in his head. Asami was smirking at him.  
  
Akihito glared again. That's right he thought. Asami had done something to him, something that gave the man the ability to talk in his head, to hear his thoughts, and make him feel things that weren't actually happening.  
  
Aibi continued without noticing Akihito's distraction. "Yes, several were fielded once you and Kaida-kun left the chambers. Fei Long and Mikhail Arbatov will fill both of you in on them. Pick the ones you are comfortable with and either send one of them to tell us or come yourself. The Council will wait."   
  
Kaida spoke then looking first at her brother then at Aibi before sliding a glare to the German woman. "Will the gallery be filled as well?"  
  
Aibi shook her head, "No, I closed the proceedings to all the others. They will not know your decisions until their council reps tell them. The rest of this evening's meeting will be closed to everyone not on the council and the two of you."  
  
"Does that include the council member's secretaries?" Kaida didn't even try to keep the sneer out of her voice as she looked once again at the German woman.  
  
Aibi laughed, "If you wish. I will let the rest of the council know that they must send their private secretaries away when you come down." She glanced at Kei then, "Though it will be the same for Asami's secretary as well."  
  
Kaida nodded her head as she squeezed Kei's hand, "That is fine. I just do not want any more interruptions to Aki's and my decisions."  
  
The German woman stood with her mouth hanging open and Aibi laughed again before taking the woman's hand and pulling her out of the room, "Come now my dear, surely you didn't think you'd won these young Radiant's over by preventing their bonding with Asami did you?"  
  
No one in the room heard the woman's answer. None of them really cared. Kaida looked at her brother. He was still engaged in some battle of wills with Asami. She looked at Kei and gave him a small smile before turning and addressing the other two men in the room.   
  
She pointed to Fei first, "It would be nice if you introduced yourselves first."  
  
Akihito heard his sister address the men that had not left with Aibi-sensei and while he really wanted to learn what it was that Asami had done to him while sleeping he also wanted to know who the strangers were. He gave Asami one last glare and turned to look at the three strangers still in the room.  
  
One appeared barely older than he was. Though knowing what he knew of the People now he wasn't certain if the man was in his early twenties or centuries old like Asami. The man was lean with long thick raven hair flowing like dark slik about his head and shoulders. Standing next to him was a slightly older looking short haired raven locked male. The long haired gentleman bowed and introduced himself as Fei Long and his companion as his lifemate, Yoh.   
  
The third man smiled as he also bowed. His eyes were a peculiar grey and his hair was shiny gold brown. He laughed as he told them his name was Mikhail Arbatov and that his lifemate was still in Russia attempting to corral their fifteen month old triplets. He cheekily suggested that Asami look into the new artificial wombs the American's had created. He and his lifemate would not have been able to have children without the marvelous technology.  
  
Asami nodded and Akihito's thoughts were suddenly filled with images of him bottle feeding a tiny child with Asami's hair and his eyes. Akihito's eyes jerked back to Asami's what he saw in the man's face made his heart jerk. The man wasn't smirking and when Aki changed image child to have his hair but Asami's eyes the man made no visible notice of it.   
  
It wasn't until he saw another image of Asami pushing a little girl in a swing in the Shinjuku Gyoen park that Aki realized the first image had to have been of his own making. Asami was thinking about being the father of a little girl. Aki's mental image of their baby had been a boy. He shook his head as if to clear it when he heard Asami's thought. _We could always have one of both._  
  
Aki turned back to the three men standing before them and asked aloud, "What are these suggestions that the council has for us?"  
  
Akihito noticed Fei Long glanced at Asami and waited for the man to nod before he explained. "The council believes it is in your best interests to stay with another Jo for a short while before you make your finial decision."   
  
He paused with Mikhail picking up, "It is your choice but the DNA tests will take about two weeks to complete. The council feels you would benefit by residing with one of the two of us until those results are provided to you."  
  
Kaida interrupted then. "Thus moving us away from Asami's influence and allowing other Jō to 'court' us as it were?"  
  
Both men nodded, "as it were."  
  
Akihito looked back at Asami. He felt his skin crawling again. This time Asami didn't stop it just mentally he reached out and laid his palm over the mark in front of everyone, "Akihito, I won't make you go." Aki relaxed only to tense again when Asami finished with, "but I would like you to go to Hong Kong with Fei Long."  
  
Aki mentally berated himself. He forgot again that he didn't get a choice in this world. He was pulling away from Asami when he was suddenly surrounded by warmth. It filled his muscles and ran across his skin chasing the anxiety away. _I only want you to go so you'll be safer, Akihto. I am never giving you up now._ He felt Asami press on his brand again. _You belong to me for real this time._  
  
Kaida smiled as her brother leaned into Asami's chest. She wasn't certain how they were communicating. Kei had told her that after enough blood exchanges she and he would be able to read and understand each other's surface emotions that it was part of being lifemates. She didn't understand how Asami could telepathically communicate with her brother.   
  
Though, Kei had suggested it had something to do with Asami being a Jō. Apparently one of the skills a Jō had was limited telepathy with their bonded Mages. Apparently the lifemate bond only expanded that ability.  
  
She leaned over and took Aki's hand asking, "If that is what Asami wants Aki, then I am fine with going. You?"  
  
It took several minutes but finally Aki nodded. Asami looked up from where he'd been staring at the top of Akihito's head and said, "Fei, go tell the council of their decision. I have some last minute instructions I want to give them both."  
  



	9. Separation Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asami signed another document on his tablet with his halo pen before pressing his right index finger onto the small square at the bottom of the screen to add his bio signature. It had been another long boring day in Sion's offices.  
  
He would be heading out to visit the last of the small parts manufacturing sites as soon as his meeting with the reps from the national defense force completed in the next couple of hours. He'd had good success with reducing the numbers of failed inspections at the other plants and he was certain that he'd be able to reduce them even more after the afternoon's visit to the place.  
  
He looked around his large office and sighed. He was glad that neither Kirishima nor Suoh were in the room with him. He was acting distinctly out of character. Normally he could spend all day pouring over documents, preparing for meetings and closing deals without once wondering what time it was or worse just how long it had been since he'd last talked to people that weren't after his money, position, or influence.  
  
He sighed, no if he was honest with himself, he knew he wasn't counting the hours between those conversations. He only counted them between his conversations with his lifemate. He looked down at his left arm, flexing the muscle in his bicep.  
  
It had been a little over eleven days or two hundred and sixty-four hours, nineteen minutes and forty-three seconds, but really who was counting, since he'd last held Takaba Akihito in his arms. The boy had nearly freaked out when Riki-hakase had come to take their blood. It was testament to how strong his lifemate bond was with the boy that Akihito had not. Instead he'd only attempted to physically burrow into Asami's side.  
  
He looked around his office again, glancing at the vid clock and noted that he nearly twenty minutes before his guests from the government arrived. He closed his eyes and reached out to his lifemate. Since it was just before noon he knew that Akihito should be up and about. He was only somewhat correct.  
  
He found Akihito's brain partially asleep. His boy was dozing on warm sand; his eyes mostly closed as he watched his sister, Kou, Taketo, and Tao playing in the surf in front of him. Akihito was full of sweet Passion fruit, Mangos, Figs, Watermelon, and Dragon fruit. If his most recent memories were anything to go by he'd used the sugar rush to race Kou and Takato from one end of the beach to the other. Now the sugar had worn off leaving him full, but exhausted.  
  
Which was no wonder, considering the group had arrived at the private beach nearly an hour before the sun rose. It seems to achieve this feat Akihito had remained awake through the night. The others had at least gone to bed early the night before however Aki had apparently stayed up so he could talk to Asami even though there had been no plans for the boy to consume Asami's blood last night.  
  
After the first week apart Asami slowed the boy's intake to try and allow for more recovery time. It seems that both the boy and his sister were suffering from Lifemate Separation Syndrome. Kirishima and Asami were both worried about them and after talking to Riki-hakase determined that perhaps they should reduce the number of bonding sessions held by vid phone.  
  
They had talked though Asami had assumed the boy would sleep soon after they disconnected their vid call, as the boy had been dressed in his sleep pants and lounging on the large bed in the room Fei had provided him. The room was traditionally inspired. The red lacquered posted and canopied bed surrounded by walls of dark wood decorated with Chinese silks, Black Lacquer side boards with Mother of Pearl inlays, and hand painted floor Screens with gold, red and white Koi or covered in gold silk embroidered with dragons. There was even a Chinoiserie Harpsichord Style Desk and Chair where Aki's cameras and tablet were set out.  
  
Asami recognized the room the first time Aki had shown it to him. It was the guest room the dragon gave Asami each time he visited. The man knew why Fei had given Akihito that room. It made Asami feel a little bit better about sending the boy there. The room after all had been designed with Asami specifically in mind and was reserved for him only. By putting Akihito in it Fei was declaring to the eastern dragons that Akihito was Asami's lifemate. Not that Akihito knew that.  
  
In truth Asami was keeping most of the reasons he was having Aki do several things from the boy. Akihito still hadn't made any decision about truly trusting Asami. While the two soft linen ropes he'd given the boy remained stuffed in the bottom of the boy's bottom desk drawer Asami wasn't going to share with Akihito what his lifemate status meant. The boy tried to ask every night they talked and so far Asami had been able to distract him.  
  
Distraction is what Asami is after now. Mainly for himself; his father had warned him that separation from one's life mate was stressful. It was that reason that his father had acquiesced to his mother's desire to leave on the first generational ship that left orbit over a century ago. Lifemates did not part except in extreme circumstances. Asami video called Akihito every night just to make their separation bearable.  
  
Akihito snuffed and turned to his side settle into full sleep. Asami chuckled to himself his mother had often complained that his father was a pervert. One she could not escape even in sleep. While she never told him what the dreams the man had planted were about when he was young certain conversations he and the man had held not to mention certain gifts the man had left him once leaving, Asami was pretty certain what many of them entailed.  
  
With that in mind he probed Aki's thoughts and fished for what the boy was dreaming about. Akihito's dream was currently focused on the beach. Only in his dream he was the only one on it. The boy stood alone looking out across the waves at what Asami assumed to be the not yet risen sun. Predawn light gathered around the boy's hands and hair, turning the beach around him darker than it normally would have been.  
  
Asami watched in fascination as Akihito molded the light. At first the shape was merely a glowing blob with indistinct form and little depth. However, as the minutes past the light changed twisting and flowing through his fingers like clay. Asami watch for nearly ten minutes before he realized what Akihito had created. Before the boy in gold and silver stood the most beautiful European dragon Asami had ever seen. Next to it in dark blue gray was a seven tailed fox.  
  
Akihito turned to him then tears streaming down his face. Asami pulled the boy into his arms whispering, "How long have you know I was here?"  
  
Akihito shrugged, "For several minutes now." He gestured to the sculpture of light. "I keep seeing them when I close my eyes. I wanted to show them to you; I don't know why."  
  
Asami looked at the pair the dragon was stately almost wrapped in an air of authority. The fox on the other hand smiled like it had just played the best practical joke and only it knew. Asami expected any minute for the creature to laugh. "Who are they?" He looked down as his lifemate, "Do you know?"  
  
Aki shook his head no, but mumbled into Asami's chest, "I think they might be my parents."  
  
Asami paused in the back rub he was giving Akihito and frowned. It was not uncommon for members of the people to cross breed, especially when lifemates were involved. So, he wasn't frowning about the paring, no if the images Akihito's mind space had created were his parents then the fact that Kaida looked a near twin for Elble's daughter was easily explained. The only lifemate paring between the European dragons and the Kitsune in the past three hundred years was Aria and Hirito. The pianist was as famous to the People for his practical jokes as he was for his music. It was another clue to Akihito and Kaida's pasts.  
  
Akihito leaned into his chest bringing his thoughts back to the boy in his arms. The beach wasn't cold but the moist breeze winding its way across he waves was decidedly cooler than the summer evening air. Akihito shivered each time it wafted over his skin Asami turned him and guided him to the small tent his mind added to the otherwise barren beach.  
  
Inside were several thick rugs and pillows as well as a low table with fruit and tea. Akihito looked around and sighed, "Let me guess, you have an Arabian Nights fantasy where you're the tribal chief and I am your slave?"  
  
Asami laughed, "Actually no, it is just that the Arabs know best how to deal with sand. I'm not big on the gritty stuff; it gets into everything." He pushed Akihito to sit. "I almost added chairs but you look tired even though you're actually asleep and dreaming."  
  
Aki nodded, "I am. I don't know why. I can seem to truly fall asleep and when I do I don't seem to get any benefits from it." He didn't protest when Asami pushed him to recline on the rugs and then stretch out on his stomach. "When will you be coming to Hong Kong? Fei Long said he next council meeting was in four days. Are we going to see you before that?"  
  
Asami smiled, "Miss me?" He reached for one of Akihito's feet and started kneading the instep.  
  
Akihito groaned then glared at him over his shoulder, "Like I would. I haven't been groped once since I got here."  
  
Asami moved his hands up to Akihito's calf pressing his fingers into the muscle and loosening the tension he found there, "I'm glad; Fei Long and I would be having words if he let anyone else touch you."  
  
Akihito didn't even raise his head as he retorted, "Oh, be nice to him. He's been very kind to us invading his home like this."  
  
"So, he should be. Remember it was his idea to bring you here." Asami had reached Aki's hip at this point and started working his way back down the other leg. "If I had my way I'd have just hidden you in one of my safe houses. Silberdrache be damned."  
  
"Liar." Akihito nearly turned over with that statement. He looked Asami in the eye before continuing with, "You wanted to hide us away. I know. You wouldn't have though. You respect your people's traditions too much to flaunt them just for Kaida and I."  
  
Asami leaned over and kissed him. It was slow and thorough and when Asami raised his head, Aki's eyes had blown wide and the boy was panting. There was a distinct bulge in his swim pants. Asami palmed it before pushing Akihito down on his back and saying, "You're wrong. Had I not worried about what hiding you away would do to you I would have done it weeks ago, Kitten."  
  
Aki reached down trying to still Asami's hand, "Would you stop it with that awful nickname." He shook his head as Asami merely grasped Aki's hand, guided it past the boy's own waistband, and then proceeded to use it to stroke Akihito's hardened member.  
  
Akihito gasped but tried to keep the conversation on the nickname. "I'm nothing like a baby cat. Why do you persist in calling me one?"  
  
Asami kissed the boy again before replying, "Oh, you are certainly cat like, but that's not why I call you Kitten." He indulged in licking and suckling Akihito's chest for several minutes before kissing the boy again.  
  
"T… Th… The… then w….wh…why?" Aki stuttered the question out nearly lost in the warmth infusing his limbs. He was so close. He was certain that he'd cum any minute. Lust pooled in his groin and he felt the tell-tale signs of orgasm rushing through his veins.  
  
Asami stopped their combined hands and grasped the base of Akihito's penis tightly, almost painfully, cutting off the completion Akihito sought. He grinned at the angry look the boy glared into his eyes. "I don't think I'll tell you."  
  
Asami opened his eyes breaking his mental connection with Akihito just as Kirishima knocked on his door. His lunch meeting had arrived and was being seated in the special conference room. Kirishima reminded him that they would be having American grilled steak and potatoes for the meal and asked as they exited his office.  
  
Asami almost tripped when his attempt to answer was interrupted by Akihito's mental shout, "You bastard! Come back and finish what you started!"  
  
It was several minutes after he had greeted the fleet admiral that he was able to fashion a proper response to the man's question on why he was chuckling before the meeting had even started.  
  
Akihito fiddled with the settings on his camera while waiting on the rest of the tour group. It was hot and the humidity caused his sweat to make him feel worse rather than better. He laughed to himself thinking he better not let Fei Long hear him call them that. That, however, is what they really were, a very small, very select group of tourists.  
  
Touring Hong Kong in July was a study in endurance. At least for Akihito it was. The air temperature was not that much warmer than Tokyo nor was the humidity in truth. However, unlike previous summers where he and Kaida had spent the nights either in one of the old warehouses near the port with cool breezes coming off the salt water or hidden among one of the many park's woodland bushes soaking up the cool of the earth, these summer evenings were spent in the luxury of a five star hotel penthouse suite with air conditioning.  
  
He didn't complain, out loud at least, but the drastic temperature changes were messing with his equilibrium. Not mention he was apparently allergic to something they used to clean the suite with; maybe it was the soap used to wash the bedding? He couldn't honestly be certain.  
  
All Akihito knew was that since flying to Hong Kong he felt sick. Sometimes he was so nauseous he couldn't get out of bed without throwing up. Worse it was getting nearly impossible to hide it. Just that morning both Fei Long and his sister had noted aloud how pale he was. Not that Kaida could say much Akihito knew she was throwing up every morning as well.  
  
Truth was the only time he didn't feel sick was the hour he got to see Asami each day. Not that the hour was all great. Since it always involved one of the more disgusting things he's ever done, at least when he looked at the moments objectively. In the heat of them however he never failed to follow Asami's directions and drank every drop that Yoh brought him.  
  
He'd asked Yoh after a vid call a couple of day ago how much he had consumed so far. He'd spent nearly twenty minutes dry heaving in the toilet after the man had said he estimated Akihito consumed a little less than two liters. Two liters of blood was a lot for someone to willing give away especially when one wasn't getting actual transfusions to replace it. It was exorbitant when one was drinking it. Worse Asami still hadn't told him why.  
  
Male laughter pulled Aki from his thoughts and he looked up to see Tao laughing loudly as he adjusted Taketo's Tai ji Quan stance of the Play the Lute position. Aki raised his camera and snapped a photo while chuckling at the flustered look on Taketo's face. He looked over Kowloon Park; when the group was done learning basic Tai ji Quan in the Conservation Corner Tao had promised to take Aki through the Sculpture Walk, Chinese Garden, and Bird Lake areas. In return for his promise to not run across the rooftops or through the alleys of the city proper, which would have certainly resulted in the loss of the guards Fei Long had added to the nine Asami had sent, Fei Long had promised they would visit numerous photo worthy locations.  
  
So far the man had been true to his word; taking Akihito and Kou to appreciate an almost empty beach in Sai Kung, shoot panoramic views of Hong Kong island from the 43rd floor viewing platform in the Bank of China Building, sketch and photo the sunsets over the harbor from West Kowloon, immortalize the people and atmospheres of the open air Temple Street Night Market, Ladies' Market, and Flower Market, as well as capture thousands of images from the closest temples and nunneries, a fair number of churches, and the handful of mosques and synagogues in Hong Kong. Kou had been forced to purchase several new drawing notebooks, additional pencils and charcoals, while Aki now had a separate bag just to hold his used memory cards and the four new lenses Asami said Aibi-sensei had insisted he send over with her their fourth day gone.  
  
Taketo and Kaida were not left idle either. Taketo, while not an art enthusiast of any true sort was surprisingly knowledgeable about Asian history and had spent the days they were all in Hong Kong visiting numerous historical locations with his fellow history buff Yoh. Tao would often tag along with the two when they went out. Kaida spent time with Fei Long, both enamored with music and enjoying each other's views on the different genres.  
  
Each day had been spent in frantic rushes to get each party to their location of choice with guards, guides, and equipment, in Akihito and Kou's cases, and hours were spent enjoying the mini vacation the four Japanese had from school. Tao was young enough he was still home tutored and the places he visited with Taketo and Yoh were considered educational enough that even he got a small break from homework.  
  
The nights were often packed with eating at expensive restaurants and attending concerts, ballets, or the theater. On the few nights the group didn't go someplace they often sat around low tables discussing what they'd seen and done during the day until Aki and Kaida would adjourn to their rooms and spend time on video calls with Asami and Kei respectively.  
  
Truth was Akihito was not just sick because of his and Asami's nightly blood exchanges; he was physically exhausted from the whirlwind tour of Hong Kong. He glanced over at Taketo and Kou again; the two were now laughing too hard to hold the Tai ji Quan poses correctly and Tao was trying to remove them from the area before their giggles disturbed anyone else. Aki was glad they were having fun, but he was ready for it to be over.  
  
The troupe came to a giggling halt in front of Akihito Kou was holding his stomach and leaning heavily on Taketo as he questioned Aki about their antics, "Did you see Taketo, Aki-chan!"  
  
Aki laughed back, "Yeah, he looked like a drunken duck out there."  
  
Taketo huffed at the description, "You should try that Lute position, then. It was hard to hold my hands and arms that way." He punched Aki's arm, "I didn't see you out there practicing."  
  
Aki shook his head, "It's too hot."  
  
Tao laughed, his childish voice rising with the sound, "Everywhere in Hong Kong is too hot this time of year." He looked around the park and then gestured towards the walkway behind Aki. "The Sculpture garden is just behind you. I don't know much about the art though."  
  
Aki slid off the wall he was sitting on smiling, "That's ok; I'm not actually interested in the individual pieces I just want to capture them as part of the ambiance of the park. I don't even know if I'll keep any that have them in it since if I want to publish any of these photos I'd have to find the Sculpture's artist and get permission."  
  
"Oh, I did know you had to do that? Tourists are always putting up photos of their favorite pieces." Tao led the way down the special path watching with interest as Aki fiddled with the dials and buttons on his camera. When Aki pulled out a new lens and switched it for the one he'd started with Tao looked at him curiously, "Why are you changing lenses?"  
  
Akihito glanced down at the ten year old. Yoh had said that Tao was a Fire. And while that still meant little to Akihito personally, he understood Yoh's worry that the boy had not displayed the usual passion for an art that other Fires of the People always displayed. Apparently the boy had at some point of the last ten years dabbled in painting, clay sculpture, singing, dancing, music composition, writing, and ice skating. He never stayed with any art longer than it took for him to learn the basics and then only because he didn't want to disappoint his Jō.  
  
When introduced the boy had asked what art Akihito pursued. After learning it was photography he had gone to their digital library and checked out several works on cameras as well as books of famous photographers. The boy had peppered Aki with questions about his work ever since.  
  
Aki of course was both flattered the boy thought he was doing something interesting and terrified he'd mislead the boy or teach him something wrong. Akihito had learned photography from Takaba-shi. The man had instructed him organically with very little in the way of explanations and a lot of leaving Aki to self-explore the equipment and process. The only real instruction he actually provided was when Aki asked a direct question.  
  
When Tao first expressed interest in what Aki was doing he'd asked Aibi-sensei what he should do. She'd told him to allow the boy the same experiences that he'd gotten at ten. So when Tao asked him about the lens change he paused in the switch and handed Tao the Camera with the existing lens still in place.  
  
"Here take a couple of photos with this lens. You remember how to focus?"  
  
Tao nodded and hung the strap around his neck and looked through the viewfinder, "Yes, lǎoshī. I remember; you turn this dial slowly."  
  
Akihito had still not gotten used to Tao referring to him as "teacher" even though it appeared he used honorifics with everyone Kou and Taketo were just 'gē' and Kaida was just 'jiě', just 'friend'. Still he'd learned to not argue with the boy. The one time he'd tried Tao had just looked at him solemnly while he talked and then ignored his request for the boy to just use 'gē' with him as well.  
  
Sighing at the honorific Aki nodded, "That's right. To learn why I'm changing lenses I suggest you take pictures of the same object."  
  
Tao nodded and pointed the camera at a bronze work of an old man sitting over a sundial. He snapped several photos and then looked at Aki who gestured with the other lenses, "You know how to change them."  
  
Tao gently removed the currently attached lenses before handing it to Aki. He took the new lenses and attached it as Aki said, "Once you have the lens in place just point and click don't fiddle with the focus or anything. I'll let you do that after you tell me why I want to change lenses."  
  
The boy nodded and pointed the camera at the sculpture again snapping several images quickly. He then lowered it and started looking through the shots that he'd taken. "Hey why are these first shots so washed out?"  
  
Aki smiled, "keep looking; I bet after you see the others you'll see why."  
  
Tao flipped to the shots with the new lens and smiled, "It is the sun." He glanced around and then pointed, "Oh, the sun is high in the east right now and since we're walking almost directly into it all the light washes out what I wanted to photo."  
  
He looked up expectantly but then frowned, "but if the new lens is to help with that why are the photos still too bright?"  
  
"You're right, let's see if we can fix that." Akihito took the Camera and fiddled with the settings and then hung it back around the boy's neck, "Take some more. This time focus them."  
  
The young boy raised the camera again and spent several seconds focusing on the bronze sculpture before snapping off several photos. He looked at them immediately and his mouth open in surprise, "What? How did you do that? It looks like I took that picture in the shade?"  
  
Aki laughed, "It is the lens you used with changes to the cameras auto filters, auto metering, white balance settings, and shutter speeds." He reached for the camera again. "Here let me show you."  
  
He and Tao spent several minutes going over the various settings the camera had. He didn't set anything for Tao but encouraged him to play with each setting separately and look at the pictures as he made changes.  
  
In the end they never made it to Bird Lake. Aki and Tao spent nearly an hour in Sculpture Walk and then Kou sent the rest of the day sketching the Chinese garden. Aki was sort of glad they stopped there. There were several shaded areas and frankly he was still tired. He allowed Tao to take numerous additional photos once they moved into the garden.  
  
Tao at one point wanted to delete his 'bad' photos but Aki told him not to. After all there was a famous American photographer that only published 'bad' photos. The man would often take photos with the wrong settings on purpose and then edit them with color, blurring, and/or fading before using them to create giant collages. His art was still hanging in galleries today.  
  
Besides Aki assured the boy that many small "mistakes' could be fixed by modern software. Tao asked if he'd show him how to edit the photos he'd taken and Aki had promised to show him before his nightly call with Asami.  
  
The day passed uneventfully, and soon enough the group visiting Fei Long found themselves sitting around a feast of food. There were numerous traditional Chinese dishes, several sets of European styled steaks and chickens, and to the delight of the Japanese guests several large plates of sashimi and nori rolls. Akihito smiled as Kou and Taketo held an impromptu eating contest. Normally Aki would be right in the thick of the event. However he found himself overly tired and actually nodded off while Tao and Kou were laughing their way through a description of Taketo's Tai ji Quan poses.  
  
It was Fei Long that woke him and then all but carried him down the hallway to a quiet sitting room. "Would you like to join me for some tea?"  
  
Akihito nodded, "Sorry I nodded off during dinner. The food really was wonderful."  
  
Fei smiled at him, "No need to fret. You are in a strange place, far from your lifemate, and tired from all of the running around I've had you doing."  
  
Akihito hummed in response, "Well, I hate to look ungrateful. You've been really nice and I've quite enjoyed being too busy to spend much time with the other Jo trying to change Kaida and my minds."  
  
Fei laughed, "Yes, well that was part of the plan. Mainly however I wanted you to enjoy yourself. Though these past couple of days you've just looked tired."  
  
"I am." Akihito sighed, "Sick too. Asami keeps feeding me his blood, but he won't tell me why. Do you know?"  
  
Fei nodded, "He is increasing his lifemate bond with you."  
  
"By making me drink his blood? I thought he was a kitsune, not a vampire." Aki shook his head. "And why does it make me sick? He never looks pale or exhausted. I on the other hand slept through two meals today."  
  
Fei smiled, "yes well the lack of food you've been able to keep down hasn't helped." The man crossed the room and started an electric kettle and prepped a clear tea pot. "I'm going to make you some chamomile tea. It will relax you and allow you to sleep."  
  
Aki shook his head, "Can't sleep. I promised Tao I would show him how to edit the photos he took today. Besides don't I have to be awake to talk to Asami and consume another glass of his 'essence'?"  
  
Fei settled several dried chamomile flowers into the tea pot and then poured the simmering water over them. Aki watched in fascination as the semi-dried flowers bloomed in the pot unfolding their white petals and revealing their small yellow centers. The water in the pot slowly turned golden brown.  
  
Fei brought the pot over with two clear tea cups. He dropped several granules of dehydrated honey into one cup and poured the warm brew over it. "Here drink the tea." He sat down across from his guest and smiled again, "I want to thank you for spending time with Tao and indulging his questions."  
  
Aki shook his head, "No problem. I was ten once and it would be poor of me to not pass on what Takaba-shi taught me. Besides, I understand from Yoh that this is most active the boy has been in pursuit of any art."  
  
"It is," Fei shook his head, "Which I don't understand. While he is very interested he obviously has no talent. He was excellent at glass sculpting however. He just stopped though after learning the basics."  
  
"Let me guess, as soon as he implied interest you went out and hired the best glass work instructors and set up and entire studio for him to learn and practice in." Aki laughed, "You probably even have several of his earliest pieces about the tower."  
  
Fei nodded, "Of course, Tao is not just my Fire and I am not just his Jo. When Tao lost his parents as a toddler he was entrusted to my care. I will only provide the best for him. His father raised me when mine choose the duties of being a Family clan leader, Jō, and council membership over spending even moments with his children."  
  
"Well there you have it." Aki sipped at the tea, it was very good and the warmth spread through his muscles relaxing him. "If Takaba-shi had done that with me I'd have probably grown bored too and never gotten past the basics of taking the most simple of pictures."  
  
Fei frowned at him, "but wouldn't you be much farther along in your chosen field if you had gotten proper instruction early on."  
  
Aki shook his head, "nope." Then he laughed, "Takaba-shi only even started allowing me to take photos to keep me out of trouble." He smiled at the memory, "Kaida always knew what she wanted to do with her life. She's always wanted to dance, sing and play music for people. She revels in the reactions of the audience."  
  
Aki settled against the oriental couch, "I on the other hand didn't really have any direction, worse I was overly curious and belligerent."  
  
Fei chuckled at that, "Belligerent, I believe. I've over heard some of your vid conversations with Asami."  
  
Aki blushed, "Yeah, well he's gotten full of himself." He rubbed the back of his head before saying, "Anyway, Tao is a lot like me. He's still curious about the world albeit not as defensive as I am."  
  
"Tao can learn the bulk of what your expensive teachers share by using the net. I suspect he grows bored with how the instructors approach his education. He would enjoy the lessons if they were more organic. He also needs to be encouraged to accept that even mistakes can be beautiful."  
  
A deep baritone whispered in his head; I couldn't agree with that more. Akihito shivered; he'd been hearing Asami in his head more often.  
  
Fei hummed in response to Aki's suggestion, "Many of the arts he has pursued are dangerous to practice. It wouldn't be wise for me to allow my nephew to explore glass blowing on his own."  
  
Aki shook his head, "I never said he didn't need instructors." He paused trying to figure out how to explain what he meant. Not coming to any conclusions on what would work he ended up just blurting out what he'd originally be thinking, "Look, I don't know what you want Tao to learn, but I'm telling you. Hiring experts in those fields and then intimidating them to only teach Tao the best isn't going to help."  
  
He leaned forward, "Art isn't about perfect. Computers create perfect, but humans don't. The People don't either; even if your egos tell you otherwise." He shook his head, "why is it that parents and guardians always want to make everything perfect?"  
  
Fei stared at the boy in front of him with wide eyes then narrowed them before saying, "Is it wrong to want only the best for your children?"  
  
"The best no, perfect yes. Perfect is artificial, perfect is fake." HE paused and took a deep breath, "I suspect that were you to provide a set of studios of the various art forms that Tao has already tried and left him to explore on his own, he'd quickly settle on something. Many instructors, especially those that practice the craft themselves with success, confuse sharing knowledge about the art with convincing their students their style is best. Just think about it."  
  
Fei Long nodded, "I believe I will." He stood then picking up the tea pot and carrying it back to the side board. "Now, Asami said that he would be calling early this evening. I know that you've promised Tao to show him some things on the computer; however that can wait until tomorrow." He gestured towards the sitting room's door, "Go and speak with your lifemate."  
  
Aki nodded and rose slowly. He was actually eager to see Asami, but the tea combined with the fact he already felt exhausted prevented him from moving quickly. He walked along the hallway of the main living quarters and took the elevator to the next to the top floor of the building. Like Asami Fei Long lived in a penthouse atop one of the tallest buildings on Hong Kong Island.  
  
Unlike Asami, Fei Long's penthouse was several stories and his group's offices were actually located on the bottom of the same building. The Baishe was one of the oldest remaining underworld organizations remaining in China. Though Fei Long had separated the group from the seedier parts of the underworld business centuries ago his family maintained numerous contacts as part of his duties as council member of the People.  
  
Aki usually took the stairs between the levels of the penthouse. Tonight however he welcomed the elevator's existence and leaned heavily against the chrome walls as it took him up two floors to the guest rooms. Heat pooled in his gut the closer he got to the large bedroom and anticipation danced along his muscles. He had not been touched since Asami had kissed him at the airport just before leaving Japan. The dream on the beach didn't count, though it had been so realistic Akihito often wondered how much of it was him dreaming.  
  
The nightly video calls didn't really help either. Asami would always start the calls by asking how Aki had spent his day. They'd talk about what he'd seen and Aki would invariably poke at Asami for not having finished taking over the planet yet. Eventually Yoh would bring him the glass of thick red liquid and a carafe of water. By then Asami would have coaxed Aki into his night pants and to lay upon the bed.  
  
What happened between Yoh brining him the glass and waking the next day was still blurry in Aki's mind. He knew that during those minutes he would drink the blood and often when he concentrated he would see either Yoh or Fei Long return to the room and cover him with blankets while murmuring for him to sleep. There was only one night he had not. That was the night before they were to go to the beach for Aki to catch the rising sun in his view finder. That night though Asami had skipped having Aki drink the blood.  
  
Aki entered the room and crossed to the black lacquered wardrobe. He pulled out his silk sleep pants tossing them on the bed before turning to the small desk. The room was equipped with halo-vid cameras and he knew that soon Asami would be standing at the end of the bed. The man usually directed their conversations but tonight Aki wanted to ask the man several questions and he was determined to get answers. That would mean staying away from the bed. He sat down on the desk chair and waited.  
  
The wait wasn't long. He heard the distinct ding of an incoming call and told the computer to answer. Asami materialized next to the bed and it took several seconds before he turned around to smile at Akihito. "Not sitting on the bed tonight?"  
  
Aki shook his head, "No, You have a habit of getting me out of my clothes whenever I start out there." He leaned forward, "I want to know what drinking your blood is doing to me."  
  
Asami crossed the room and reached out to ghost his fingers along Akihito's jaw, "What do you think it is doing?"  
  
Aki closed his eyes; he knew Asami couldn't actually be touching him. However the man's fingers felt real in his brain. He frowned, "It seems to be giving you the ability to plant feelings and thoughts into my brain. I can feel your fingers even knowing you're not really here."  
  
Asami nodded and hummed. Aki frowned then asked the question that was really on his mind, "Is it giving you control of me?" He unconsciously held his breath waiting for the answer.  
  
Asami's fingers ghosted down his jaw, along his throat, over his collar bone and stopped over his shirt right above his brand. Asami smiled as he pressed against the raised scars that made up the white fox. "Do you feel like I have control of you Akihito?" He leaned in until their noses nearly met, "Do you want me to have control of you?"  
  
Aki shook his head. "I don't know. Ever since the Council meeting in Japan I can't seem to get you out of my head. It's like you've taken up residence." He stood passing through the hologram of Asami and stalked to the wide windows looking over Hong Kong Island. "You can speak to me as well, at all times of day, even when I'm asleep."  
  
Asami smiled, "You remember the beach." He smirked at that.  
  
Aki growled, "I knew it. You bastard! Why did you leave me like that! I fought that hard on the rest of the day!"  
  
Asami crossed the room smiling, "Because I promised no more than groping and kissing until you bring those ropes back to me." He looked across Hong Kong saying, "I know they're still in your desk drawers Akihito. Why didn't you just finish yourself off?"  
  
Aki grunted, "I didn't only scream at you in my dream. Apparently I yelled it out loud too." He blushed, turning the most interesting shade of red Asami had seen on his boy.  
  
The man laughed, "Oh, well there is no rule that you can't take care of things yourself. Though I can see how you wouldn't be able to among your friends."  
  
Akihito glanced at the man with that word, "I have questions about that too." He glared at Asami, "You sent Kou and Taketo along to make friends with me." He crossed his arms, "I can make my own friends, you know."  
  
Asami smiled down at his boy; they'd long derailed from Akihito's original question, 'was he able to control the boy because of the blood exchanges'. Not that he minded since he wasn't yet prepared to explain what the exchanges were actually doing, at least yet. He decided to keep them on the topic of friends instead, "Yet, you haven't. Not until recently, besides Taketo is one of my Waters and Kou is my Fire. You'd have had to get to know them at some point."  
  
Aki groused at that then thought of another question, "Hey why two waters and only one Earth and one Fire? Wait how many Airs are bonded with you, anyhow?"  
  
Asami walked over and sat on the bed with that statement. Akihito knew that the holovid only put him there because it was the closest object for Asami to be that matched the steps the man had probably taken in his penthouse. Nevertheless, Asami actually sitting on the bed unnerved him a little and he found himself crossing back to the desk and sitting down himself before prompting, "Well?"  
  
Asami shrugged, "I happen to have two Earths. You've never met Sinjin, he's the Tokyo district attorney. I have two Airs too. Riki-hakse isn't the only doctor, either. You've never met Mia. She's a trauma surgeon at Tokyo General." He looked at Aki then, "As to why I don't have more than one Fire. Well that is easily explained. I only have one because I've only met one I've ever felt connected to."  
  
Asami smiled at Akihito's confused look, "Fires can be volatile and I don't have a lot of patience on my best days. I struggle interacting even with Kou-san. It is why I typically let Suoh and Taketo deal with him. I'm also not terribly versed in the arts nor have any urge to become overly familiar with most of them. That makes it hard for me to have many conversations that Fires would enjoy."  
  
"But you talk to me about photography all the time?" Asami's answer just confused Aki. He'd yet to see Asami fail to hold a conversation with anyone and the conversations Asami had with him about photography were always knowledgably enjoyable.  
  
Asami crossed the room and cupped Aki's cheeks. Sending the feeling of pressure on his cheeks into his brain and causing Aki to look up into Asami's eyes. "I had Aibi give me a crash course. There is nothing about you I'm not willing to learn."  
  
Akihito blushed to the roots of his hair and was immensely grateful that the knock Yoh gave was heard at the door. Asami bid the man to enter and Akihito stood and walked through the holographic Asami a second time to stand next to the bed. Yoh nodded to him as he moved a glass of thick, dark red, almost black liquid and a carafe of what Aki determined was white grape juice. There was an extra glass as well.  
  
Yoh smiled and turned to leave when Aki asked, "What is the grape juice for?"  
  
Asami answered as Yoh paused, "Fei said you're not drinking enough. His Wind recommended that you try fruit juice instead of the water you usually get." He nodded at Yoh who left after giving Akihito a smile.  
  
Aki grinned, "I'm going to tell Fei you're ordering his Earth around."  
  
"Yoh," Asami replied shaking his head as he crossed to Aki's side, "was one of my best earth mages and like Kei a good friend." He ghosted his hand down Aki's arm, "When Fei needed help I sent Yoh. I released him once Fei admitted the man was his lifemate."  
  
"There's that word again." Aki could feel the need Asami was building in him. He closed his eyes, the first few times Asami had him consume the glass of blood Yoh had him close his eyes while he held Akihito down and Asami had leaned close whispering in his ears. While it had smelled strongly of cloves, he'd almost choked on the stuff until the first swallow settled in his stomach. After that the liquid had been easy to finish.  
  
Now, after nearly two weeks of the nightly drink, Yoh no longer had to hold him; in fact he'd stopped even staying in the room a couple of nights ago. Now Aki was actually drawn to the glass. Still he felt Asami in his head urging him to pick up the glass and swallow.  
  
He clasped the glass in two hands. It was warm and the closer his nose got to it the more the metallic tinged the liquid held wafted into his nostrils. "You never did answer my question. What is your blood doing to me?" Aki raised the glass to his lips and swallowed the thick liquid quickly.  
  
Asami ghosted his finger through Aki's hair, "Nothing yours doesn't do to me."  
  
Aki licked his lips and stared into the glass at the minuscule remains; for a brief second his mind wondered if his tongue would reach the drops left. Then it registered what Asami had said, but before he could respond or ask the new burning question he had the strange lassitude he always got from drinking Asami's blood overcame him.  
  
Asami watched as Akihito succumbed to the inebriation brought on by drinking the essence of one's lifemate. It was one of the reasons he never drank when Akihito did, one of them needed to be sober. The exchange usually took place when both parties were in the throes of passion. The near drunken euphoria the act brought about was just another part of the primal mating dance lifemates engaged in.  
  
That the exchange literally bonded the two people together was considered a beneficial side effect. Akihito was not quite correct when he said the blood gave Asami control of him. Asami only had control because Akihito had not yet grown into his own power. In normal lifemate bonds both parties entered into the pact knowingly secure in their own sense of self and how they related to each other.  
  
Yet, like most things in Akihito's short life, his lifemate bond was abnormal. Asami disliked that he'd not been able to wait until Akihito was more secure with himself, or at least until he'd bonded with Asami as mage and Jo. If the man had entertained regrets it would have only been that he'd been forced into a corner by events. So, he was not ready for Akihito to know that should the boy truly put his mind to it he could affect Asami as much as Asami affected him.  
  
Given the sexual teasing he visited so frequently upon the boy Asami was frankly glad the boy didn't know. Akihito wasn't a stupid young man. Asami was certain that the boy would figure things out eventually. However, he hoped it wouldn't be until after they had all returned home and whatever it was Aloysius Verräter was up to had been thwarted and otherwise resolved. At the very least he hoped it would be after they had bonded as Mage and Jo. So, he skillfully avoided answering Akihito's question, instead providing half answers, asking misdirecting questions of his own, and downright changing the subject.  
  
Now he pressed upon Akihito the idea that he needed to sleep. He could no longer out right command the boy change clothes and sleep. Had he been the only one of the two to have drunk the other's blood he could have used the pathway that opened to fully plant the idea of sleep, even phrased as a command, into Aki's unsuspecting brain. He wouldn't know where the idea came from so he'd believe it was his own.  
  
However, the boy had now consumed two liters of Asami's blood meaning that he could recognize when thoughts he had were not always his own. In truth Akihito might now be able to tell what thoughts were his vurses Asami's. The questions and statements made tonight led Asami to believe that Akihito was close to working out what the blood exchanges meant. The man was exceedingly glad that he would be traveling to Hong Kong to stay with his boy on the final day before the Council meeting.  
  
Akihito knew that Asami wanted him to go to bed. The urge to change into his night pants was so strong he found himself disrobing before he really thought about it. However the insisting command did help clear his thoughts from the strange fogginess drinking Asami's blood always produced. He forced himself to stop once he got to his boxer briefs.  
  
The mental exercise of beating back Asami's thoughts for his own brought other discomforts to the forefront. One he was exceedingly thirsty. He reached out and poured himself a glass of juice and guzzled it. Two the blood always brought on a raging boner and he knew that Asami wasn't going to do anything about it.  
  
Asami's fingers ghosted along his skin and he felt Asami mentally pushing him to finish changing. He grabbed the juice again and poured another glass drinking it more slowly as he turned around and looked at Asami, "I'm not getting any more naked in front of you."  
  
Asami paused and stepped back from his lifemate frowning, "Aren't you tired Akihito?"  
  
Aki shivered. Asami had lowered his voice with the question and the man's baritone lingered on the syllables of Aki's name drawing them out and making them blend in ways that only sent lust through Aki's body. He closed his eyes and concentrated on not responding, "No, not particularly." He crossed the room and sat in the desk chair again, "I happen to have several photos to review and I don't want to be put asleep again."  
  
Asami frowned but maneuvered until he once again appeared to be sitting on the end of the large bed. "Ok, do you want to talk or are your photos calling?" His smirk reappeared, "I like watching you engrossed in your work."  
  
Akihito frowned, "The photos are pressing I'm just tired of feeling like a puppet." He drained his glace of juice and fetched the now nearly empty carafe back to the desk. When Asami rose he pointed to the bed, "Nope, you stay right there." He sat again but glared when he could feel Asami's fingers ghosting over his skin again. "Stop. Feeling. Me. Up."  
  
The feeling stopped with another frown from Asami but the man didn't comment choosing instead ask, "So what did you do today?"  
  
Aki poured the last of the juice into his glass and forced himself to sip it, "I helped Tao learn how to take pictures in the blinding summer sun." He tipped the glass to his lips only to find it empty. He frowned at Asami who raised his hands in defense.  
  
"I don't have anything to do with your thirst." He paused then, "Well it will take weeks for your body to recover the red blood cells. Though, it is the loss of plasma that usually makes one thirsty."  
  
Akihito sighed, "Is your blood supposed to make me sick? What about Kaida? I know she's been drinking Kirishima's."  
  
Asami shook his head, "my blood is not what is making you sick, Akihito."  
  
"Then? What? Is?" Aki pulled his feet to the chair and wrapped his arms about his knees. "I don't like this. I thought you said the brand was punishment enough." He shuddered as he buried his face. Images of people in white lab coats ran through his mind.  
  
Asami was across the room in seconds, sending the feeling of carding his fingers through Akihito's hairs across their bond, "It is called Lifemate Separation Syndrome." He wrapped his arms his boy cursing himself yet again. Give him a business deal any day. Those he could disseminate, calculate, and achieve every single time, but keeping one young Radiant lifemate free of fear seemed impossible. Worse his own controlling and dominate nature often caused the very fear he so desperately wanted Akihito to never feel.  
  
"Akihito, look at me." He took the boy's cheeks as Aki raised his head. "The blood exchanges we are doing are part of lifemate bonding. All they do is deepen our connection." He wiped at the tears streaming down his boy's face. "I'm only having us do it now because it will help me should another Jō try and force you into a bond with them."  
  
The memories fled at Asami's touch and the fear they brought settled into general discontent. Aki nodded slowly though the tears still watered his eyes, "What about Kaida?"  
  
Asami smiled, "Kirishima has been bonded to me long enough that should someone try to force her I can work through Kei to prevent that too."  
  
"So what did you do today?" Akihito nearly whispered the question and he mentally leaned into the hands cupping his cheeks. Before Asami could answer though Aki looked up, "I know there is more to this blood exchange between lifemates thing than what you've said." He sighed then, "I'm just too tired and thirsty to push." He tried to look fierce when he poked at Asami's chest, "Don't think I won't be bugging you about it later though."  
  
Asami felt the finger Aki was 'pressing' into his chest. The boy was getting stronger and his innate abilities and natural talents were allowing him to affect Asami's mind much quicker than Asami thought they would. He was once again glad that Aki was unaware of his own power.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Akihito sat up and wiped his eyes before calling out, "Enter."  
  
One of the Baishe servants entered the room bringing another carafe of grape juice and one of water. They sat them on the bedside table taking the glass the blood had been in and pausing to allow Akihito to pass them the empty carafe before leaving. The servant did not speak the entire time and when he left Akihito huffed, "They act like I'm made of glass or something. They're actually afraid of speaking to me."  
  
Asami laughed and rose to his knees, "It is not fear, Kitten, but awe."  
  
"Stop it with the 'Kitten' and what's so special about me?" He rose and brought his glass back to the bedside table. There he stripped out of his boxers and pulled on his sleep pants, before climbing into the large bed.  
  
Asami waited until Akihito had settled under the covers and poured himself another glass of the grape juice before answering the question, "Well you and Kaida are two of the rarest People on earth. There hasn't been a Sanrantaru in nearly seven hundred years."  
  
Aki downed the glass of juice while Asami was speaking; he poured another glass and downed it as well before asking, "Are Radiants really that special?"  
  
Asami nodded, "I believe that fact, more than the possibility that you and Kaida could be Elbel's grand children, is what caused the Silberdrache to renege on the deal." Asami's halo image sat on the edge of the bed and Akihito felt Asami ghost his fingers over his jaw. "in centuries past wars were fought among the clans over the few Radiants the People had. Once it was found humans could be turned into members of the People strict laws had to put in place to prevent the creation of any."  
  
Aki drank the last of the juice and placed the glass back on the table. He settled down and stretched out on the bed pulling the comforter up to his chin before asking the question Asami had left hanging in the air, "Why? If human's can be turned why don't the People's laws allow for the creation of more Radiants?"  
  
Asami had been running his palm up and down Akihito's left arm. He'd hummed while reveling in the boy's acceptance. Akihito was only ephemerally conscious of the fact he no longer flinched from Asami's touch. He paused at Aki's question, however.  
  
Worried the answer would bring back frightening memories he thought for several moments before responding, "We don't allow human's to be converted to Radiants because of what is required to turn them."  
  
"And what is that?" Akihito whispered the question he was in truth mostly asleep.  
  
Asami stroked the boy's face and whispered back, "I think I'll leave the answer for another day. Sleep now."  
  
He pressed his desire for Akihito to rest at the boy and Akihito already tired and actually still a little drunk on his lifemate's blood allowed the almost command to push him under. Asami sat next to his sleeping boy for nearly twenty minutes before he terminated the halovid connection.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aki's room at Fei Longs was outfitted by pieces I found here: <https://www.chinafurnitureonline.com/>  
> The park that they visit in Hong Kong is a real place! [Find out more here!](http://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/see-do/great-outdoors/city-parks/kowloon-park.jsp)


	10. Missing Them

Sudo frowned at the man across from him. His inside contact for the engine parts had failed him. Apparently he valued continued employment over the possibility of quick cash. Which was all well and good for the parts inspector but not for Sudo. The man bowed in apology again and let himself out of the Dracean office.   
  
Sudo remained seated as the man left. As soon as the door clicked shut he picked up the glass of ice water on his desk and threw it across the room. His plan for securing the engine without taking one from the shipments had officially fallen apart. It was late July and he didn't even have half of the parts needed to build one. Out right hijacking was no longer the last resort it was the only.   
  
Aaron entered the office without knocking looked at the mess on the wall and floor and quietly said, "I take it your part's inspector did not bring good news."   
  
Sudo shook his head and started rubbing at his chest. He wasn't certain why but whenever he was worried about meeting his new boss's demands his brand started hurting. Now it ached deeply. Worse Mathias' lap dog was standing in the office waiting for the weekly update. He glared at the man and snapped, "No, it wasn't good news." He stood and all but stomped over to the two way mirror. "And I don't appreciate you hovering while I solve the problem."   
  
Aaron laughed, "I'm not hovering. Trust me you'd notice the difference." He walked over and stood next to the shorter man, "I like you Shu, let me help solve your problem. I'd hate to have to hold you down while Master Aloysius punishes you."   
  
Sudo frowned, "Don't refer to me so familiarly. We are not friends."   
  
"Too bad, the man can be quite brutal." The man turned and the low lights almost made the white scar across his face glow. He sat on the low black couch and smiled, "I honestly didn't come to hover. Aloysius has new orders for you."   
  
Sudo turned and stared at the man, "New orders? I can barely juggle the ones he's already left me with. Do you have any idea of the logistics involved in hijacking a FAL engine?" He stalked across to the couch.   
  
"Nope, and I don't care to." He smiled, "Though I would have thought you'd like these orders seeing as how they involve the photographer and musician your Asami has stashed at his penthouse."   
  
Sudo paused before sitting and asked, "That brat? What could Aloysius possibly want with him or his sister?"   
  
"Well he doesn't want the boy so much as he needs the boy to control the girl." Aaron pulled out his tablet and prepped a file for transfer. He glanced at the tablet Sudo had left on his desk pointedly.   
  
Sudo sighed, rose and picked up the device. He walked over to the scarred man and nodded, "Send them over. What is it he wants me to do?"   
  
"Find some locals to kidnap them. He is not concerned about casualties, but the girl and the boy must be alive when you deliver them. Though not necessarily conscious" Aaron sat back against the couch cushions. "He told me to tell you to be creative."   
  
Sudo looked at the information that Aaron had sent him, "They are in Hong Kong?" He raised his gaze to Aaron, "I don't know anyone in Hong Kong."   
  
"True, but as you can see the boy will be returning to his weekly lessons at his photography mentor's house this coming Saturday and his sister will be playing in the park. It is something the two of them do every Saturday like clockwork."   
  
Sudo looked over the information, "This is very detailed information about their guards. How did you get it?"   
  
Aaron smirked, "That you don't need to know." He rose and crossed to the office door, "Aloysius expects a plan to be delivered to him by Thursday. Delivery is expected at that old warehouse on the docks the following week." He opened the door and started to leave then paused and turned back around with an evil smile, "Oh, Aloysius also said you could rough the boy up all you want but he has to be alive."   
  
Sudo smiled at that and whispered, "That makes this easier then. I know just the group to contact." For the first time since he'd arrived at Dracaena that evening he smiled.   
  
Kaida was furious and nauseous. It wasn't a pleasant combination. The fury urged her to move, and normally she would either be at a park dancing the energy away or physically facing down the person that caused it. Two things kept those reactions from happening, one she wasn't currently in Tokyo and Hong Kong Island had much stricter rules about street performers, two the person that had raised her ire, was still hadn't left Tokyo and wouldn't until late afternoon.   
  
Worse, the nausea was preventing her from even being able to rise from the bed. So even if the culprit was available or Hong Kong Island had laxer rules she wouldn't have been able to release her ire in the manner befitting it most.   
  
Bile climbed her throat forcing her to roll to her side and lean over the edge of the bed above the conveniently placed trash can. She moaned loudly after retching causing the young Chinese girl looking after her to rush to her side.   
  
Kaida was helped to swish some water around her mouth and spit it out before being helped back against the pile of pillows and having a cool cloth placed on her forehead. Kaida frowned at the cloth but didn't remove it or say anything to girl. Apparently, she'd already caused one servant to cry by throwing one.   
  
The door opened and Kaida watched as her brother entered the room looking green as well. She frowned at his entrance; at least he'd been able to dress.   
  
Kei had explained the root cause for their current upset stomachs in their vid-call the previous evening. The rather erotic blood sharing was integral to deepening the lifemate bond. Apparently, doing it when they were distanced from each other could cause what was known as Lifemate Separation Syndrome. He'd promised that Asami had told Akihito.   
  
Her brother crossed the room and climbed onto the large bed with her before drawing her into his arms comforter and all. For some reason his closeness settled her stomach and she sighed as she leaned heavily into him. He kissed the top of her head and looked around the room she was in.   
  
Kaida had seen the room Aki was staying in. it was across the hall from her and decorated in a balanced mix of modern fixtures and eighteenth century inspired furniture.   
  
By contrast the room she stayed in reminded her of Kei. The furniture while still invoking early China was plain in comparison to the same articles across the hall. The standing armoire was black with mother of pearl handles but no other decoration and the desk was low to the ground with only cushions for seating. The bed was styled like canopied bride beds of early seventeenth century but the silk was simple grey tied back with ebony cords that matched the floor to ceiling curtains. Other than the music stand and the rack brought in for her violin and flute the room was actually rather bare.   
  
Aki sighed and snuggled into their embrace, "This is so much better than the last time we were sick."   
  
Kaida's laugh was muffled by the comforter she was wrapped in as she replied, "Well it is certainly a lot cleaner." She looked at Aki's face. He was frowning. "What's wrong?"   
  
Aki looked down at her and plastered a fake smile across his lips, "Nothing, what makes you think something is wrong?"   
  
Kaida struggled with the pile of bed clothes then sat up and really looked at her brother. He was pale, expected considering he hadn't been able to keep any breakfast but fruit juice down for two weeks. She was pale herself. However he was unable to hide the wrinkles across his forehead a clear signal he was stressing about something. Kaida knew it was stress and not anger or fear because beyond the wrinkles his face was actually calm.   
  
"Come off it Aki. You know I can tell when something is bothering you." She crossed her arms and thought about the past three weeks, "Did Fei or Yoh say something to upset you?"   
  
He shook his head, rolled on his back and stared at the canopy, "No."   
  
"You weren't like this yesterday, was it something Asami said?"   
  
He shook his head again, "Can I ask you a question about your lifemate bond with Kirishima?"   
  
Kaida nodded her head before realizing that he couldn't see her answer. His focus was somewhere other than the room, so she replied, "Sure, but I only know what Kei has told me."   
  
"Hum," Aki grunted and continued to stare at the ceiling.   
  
Kaida watched her brother; he was seemingly lost in whatever he was thinking. She thought he had acknowledged her willingness to share, but now she wasn't so certain. The door opened again and she turned to see two servants with trays. One held plates of dry rice crackers. It was the only food Kaida had been able to keep down before rising out of bed. It wouldn't stave off the hunger she often developed immediately after throwing up the previous night's dinner, but it did settle her stomach enough for her to rise, shower, and dress for the day.   
  
The other tray was crowded with the makings of Green Tea. From where she lay she could see a small ceramic pot, two cups, a plate of tea sticks and a pot of granulated honey. She smiled; someone had informed the kitchen Aki was in the room with her. She looked at her brother again. He was still staring at the canopy of her bed and from the way his arms were crossed over his stomach she knew he wasn't going to be asking the question he had any time soon.   
  
Kaida sat up slowly and allowed the servant in the room with them to adjust her pillows so she could lean against them. The rice cakes were placed on the table to her left and the tea tray was arranged across her lap. Aki seemingly didn't even notice anyone had come into the room. She poked his side.   
  
He glanced at her in surprise and then sat up as she said, "If I didn't know better I'd say you were moping." She smiled at that and poked him again, "However, I know that you never mope." She dropped a sick in each cup and poured the hot water over them before pushing the small dish of honey towards her brother. "So, tell me what is going on."   
  
Aki frowned, "I think Asami is lying to me." He blushed when his sister laughed, "It's not funny. He flopped back onto the mattress next to her and only Kaida grabbing the sides of the tray kept its contents from spilling. "Never mind, I forgot you've teamed up with him against me."   
  
"That's not a very nice thing to say, I haven't teamed up with anyone against you." Kaida picked up her cup of tea and sipped it. She thought carefully about her next words; Aki could be surprisingly prickly about anything to do Asami. She thought of changing the subject but the wrinkles on her brother's forehead worried her. Knowing she needed a better understanding of what was going on in her brother's mind without alerting him to her worry she lowered her voice, "what leads you to believe his lying to you?"   
  
"He keeps talking in my head and won't tell me how he can do it." He crossed his arms before grousing, "I feel your smile from here Kai." His next words were really worried though, "He was talking about us being rare and that we were the first two Sanrantaru in hundreds of years," He looked at Kaida then, "but when I asked him why all he'd say is it had to do with how Sanrantaru are created."   
  
Now there was fear in his eyes. It was the same look his face had held when she woke in the orphanage. Kaida knew Aki remembered more of their life before they woke up next to each other a decade past. He often had nightmares even years after they had started living with the Takabas. They continued at the foundation, in the myriad of nights they slept on the streets, and even now after Asami had taken them in.   
  
He never told her what happened in the dreams, but she knew each time they included her. He always sought her out when they did, checking on her as if she had been harmed or taken. This morning was the same; he even reached out and gently took her arm as his gaze looked her over. It was like he had to validate she was ok.   
  
Now she thought she understood. She reached out and covered the hand he had on her arm, "Hey I'm fine. Kei isn't doing anything to me I didn't agree to."   
  
He nodded, "but what is he doing? Do you feel different? How do you know it isn't hurting you?" Frustration now over shadowed the fear, though that was quickly overcome by anger, "They didn't even ask us!"   
  
At that outburst Kaida shook her head and gestured the servants to take the tray. Once both were out of the room she turned to her brother, "That isn't true Aki. Kei may have taken my blood the first time without asking but I didn't ask him either. Once he understood I felt the same craving he felt, he explained what was going on and why. He gave me a choice to continue or not."   
  
"Asami said you were doing it because it would enable him to prevent another Jo from forcing a Mage Bond."   
  
"According to Kei that's also true, but that's not why I'm trading blood with him." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "I……" she trailed off before taking a deep breath and blurting out, "I love him."   
  
Aki jerked away at that statement before asking, "How could you know that? We've only known them for a few weeks."   
  
Kaida frowned, "Eleven weeks, we've known them for eleven weeks now Aki." Then she shrugged, "Though to be honest I've been attracted to him since waking up to him sleeping in the chair next to my bed in the penthouse that first day." She smiled then, "you can't tell me that you felt nothing when Asami gave you a bath."   
  
Akihito blushed to his roots. He clearly remembered the thoughts that ran through his head at waking in Asami's arms. To say he had been and still was sexually attracted to the man was far too simple. In Asami's presence he didn't have to worry about what strangers may want, watch for danger, or worry about Kaida being harmed. Asami made him feel safe and frankly that made Akihito crave the man. The problem was that since last night's conversation Aki had started worrying about those feelings.   
  
Worse it felt like the man had taken up residence in his head. Until last night Aki was certain that his feelings about Asami were his own. Now he wondered; which feelings were because the man really was taking care of them and which existed because Asami had developed the ability to control Aki?   
  
He looked at Kaida in desperation and asked the question he really wanted an answer to "What if they're planting these feelings in us? How do we tell what we really feel versus what they want us to feel?"   
  
He gripped his hair and closed his eyes. He didn't want to be controlled any more. Asami wasn't the perfect business man everyone thought he was. Akihito had heard enough stories from the police he'd worked with and there was still the question of why Asami had been in the warehouse with the crates of smuggled oranges. Asami's underworld connections might not be something they talked about but Aki didn't kid himself about some of the things the man was up to.   
  
For all Aki and Kaida knew the whole council were really Yuzaka. What if they wanted his power so they could use him to hurt someone? His head snapped up with that thought. What if they made him hurt Kaida?   
  
Kaida watched the fear return and tried reaching for Aki; he leapt up from the bed and rushed to her closet. He yanked clothes off the hangers and started stuffing the backpack muttering about needing to get out of there. Kaida stood and somehow caught the pair of shorts her brother tossed her. She dropped them on the bed and crossed her arms. "Aki?" He ignored her.   
  
She marched around the bed and grabbed his hands. He paused and looked at her like he wasn't really seeing her, "AKI!" He blinked then and she captured his gaze, "Kei says we can do it too."   
  
"What?" He tried to take his hands back.   
  
Kaida gripped his hands tighter, "The thoughts and feelings that are scaring you. You can put them in Asami's head too." She tilted her head and smiled, "Kei says he's surprised you haven't already done so."   
  
Aki shook his head, "Wait, I can make Asami feel things?" He sat heavily on the floor then looked up at his sister, "but, how?" he twisted the bra he'd pulled from the closet in his hands.   
  
She took the clothing from him saying, "Kei says it is something we'd have to practice. He also said that he and Asami are good at it because Asami has often connected to him and Suoh. They've had a lot of practice with each other."   
  
Kaida blushed then, "He and I practiced some last night."   
  
Aki looked up sadly at his sister, "I don't want to make people feel something they don't. I don't want to control people; I don't want to be controlled. Do you?"   
  
Kaida smiled, "Well not all the time, no. Understand though that the feelings might be planted but I can tell when they are coming from Kei or not."   
  
Aki's eyes widened, "How?"   
  
"I don't know; it is hard to explain." She paused at Aki's look of defeat, "It is not that the feelings Kei sends me feel foreign it is more that when the feeling is mine it is loud, exciting, and almost violent. They make me want to sing or shout from the roof tops."   
  
She grinned then, "When they come from Kei they are quiet, calm, and almost gentle." Kaida knelt down next to her brother, "You and Asami are a lot more alike than Kei and I but you're not clones. I'm certain if you thought it though you'd be able to tell when what you feel were your thoughts and when they are being channeled to you by Asami."   
  
Akihito nodded then frowned, "I hate how you always figure this stuff out before me."   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"You always figure out when someone loves you. You knew the Takaba's loved you almost from the beginning. I still wonder if they ever loved me or if I was just part of the package deal to get you."   
  
Kaida sat heavily at that. She'd known Aki hadn't trusted that what they'd had with the Takabas wouldn't last. He'd always been prepared for it to fall apart. Kaida also understood that it was the side effect of those thoughts had made him seem so responsible to the couple. Aki never acted out, completed all his school work, never complained, and had often done extra chores around the house to help out.   
  
He was a near perfect child for the Takabas and once at the Foundation he'd bent to the twisted whims of the pervert that ran the place. They'd only run away because Aki had decided that the place wasn't safe for Kaida. Knowing this didn't help now, though. She sat on the floor next to him, "Have you even tried?"   
  
"To control Asami?" Aki shook his head and Kaida thought she saw the fleeting question about her sanity in his eyes.   
  
"I don't think he is controlling you any more than Kei controls me." She shook her head incredulously. "Really, the only people that have ever controlled you are the ones you've let do it. Besides, Kei says the feelings are a reflection of their own about us and that any ‘commands' we may hear are really just suggestions. We can always choose to refuse them."   
  
Aki thought about the previous evening when he'd chosen to push back the compulsion Asami had tried pushing at him about sleep. It was true he'd recognized both the feeling of sleepiness and the thought about going to bed were not his. He'd even successfully blocked them once he was conscious of them.   
  
He let out a sigh and looked at the mess he'd made of Kaida's clothing, "Sorry."   
  
Kaida smiled as she stood and pulled him to his feet, "What for?" She started hanging the clothing again.   
  
"For freaking out on you?"   
  
He started hanging clothes himself. Two shirts, a pair of shorts, a skort and capris. He picked up the next item without looking. He tried to hang it before really looking at what it was. He blushed to his roots and thrust the tiny bit of lace at his sister, "What is this?"   
  
Kaida took the scrap of lace and smiled, "It's a thong, Aki." She laughed as Aki stalked out of the room.   
  
A thong, what was his sister doing with a thong? Aki stalked back across the hallway. The embarrassing ire his sister had caused lasted until the door closed. Then he was once again alone; thoughts crowded his mind. He put his hands over his ears, wishing he could shut his own mind up. It didn't work. Aki threw himself on the bed and screamed into the pillow before turning over and staring at the painted ceiling.   
  
As his blush faded he gave serious thought to his and Kaida's conversation. She had said that he could send ideas to Asami as well. He glanced at the clock on his wrist computer and smiled. Asami would only just be rising; he closed his eyes.   
  
For several seconds nothing happened. Then Aki could feel warm moist air. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in the penthouse shower room. Asami leaned against the glass wall; one arm holding him up and his head turned up towards the raining shower head. His legs were spread wide.   
  
Aki wasn't certain what he was doing until he'd crept closer. Asami was suddenly reflected in the wall tiles. His free hand stroked up and down his long length slowly. His member was thick and purple red.   
  
Aki moved closer itching to touch the man. He stopped, wait, Kaida said he could do what Asami did to him. He grinned. He wasn't certain how to accomplish it and it certainly wouldn't do to have Asami catch him. First he couldn't be visible to the man.   
  
Aki accomplished that by opening his eyes. He was no longer in the penthouse shower mentally and it took several minutes to reconnect to Asami without closing his eyes. When he did the man had already moved out of the shower and was already headed towards the large walk in closet. Perfect, Aki had long thought of Asami laid out on the soft white bench located near the man's tie armoire. He concentrated on what he wanted the man to do.   
  
Asami stood perusing his suits. He had four meetings before his private airbus took him to Hong Kong after lunch. He needed to be dressed to impress since at least two of them were social elites with more money than brains. However he didn't want to have to change clothes to travel or before he joined Akihito for an evening meal.   
  
Strangely indecisive he sat on the bench. He wasn't even certain why there was one in the dressing room other than the fact that Kirishima had said Kaida would need one. The towel wrapped about his waist felt constricting so he tugged it free. It wasn't like anyone could walk in on him anyway.   
  
He glanced in the mirror, saw his long corded legs and heavy member hanging below his chiseled chest and smiled. He'd never thought about himself that way before, but he had to admit he was glad he'd kept up his physique all these years. He'd hate to look old and flabby to Akihito.   
  
Thoughts of the boy had his cock twitching; in fact he could almost feel Akihito's small hands trying to wrap about it. It looked like he was going to need to jerk off again. It was happening with increasing regularity. What he'd used to be able to will away had grown persistent.   
  
He moved his hands lower leaning back on the small bench. His upper body barely fit the length of the piece. In order to keep his buttocks on the seat he was forced to allow his head to hang partially off the other end.   
  
He widened his legs setting his feet far apart, closed his eyes, and reached for his member. The feeling of small hands and a warm mouth beat him to it. Asami ended up gripping the edges of the couch.   
  
The mouth covering his was small, Asami could feel how stretched the lips were about the head of his dick. Also the phantom lover couldn't seem to get his length very far down their throat.   
  
However the two hands were gently grasping the full length while much spittle seemed to run down between them lubricating the appendage. A tongue delved into the slit at the crown of his penis. It rapidly pulsed in and out almost fucking his dick. Then the mouth returned to slide down farther than before.   
  
His phantom lover started choking and pulled back to run their tongue along the thick blue vein from the top to the bottom. They paused in their attention to his dick to gently suck on his balls. Then they repeated the actions, mouth sucking down his member until they started choking, followed by licking his dick like a Popsicle, and ending with soft nibbles and sucks to his ball sack.   
  
The lover took six or seven tries before they finally got Asami's length down their throat. Then they hummed. Asami jerked in response, so his phantom lover hummed more just before sliding their lips up and almost off of him. What followed was the longest oral fucking he'd ever participated in each stroke starting and ending with humming.   
  
Asami soon could no long control himself and pressed his body upwards with each downward slurp of the mouth. Then he was cumming so forcefully his semen ended up across the closet floor, on the front and top of his tie cabinet, and covering part of his mirror. That was when he heard the small laugh. He glanced around the room but couldn't see Akihito anywhere.   
  
Aki opened his eyes with a laugh and found his hands down his own shorts. White cum was splattered across his t-shirt and he was panting. He had not even known he was jerking himself off at the same time he was mentally blowing Asami's dick. He carefully sat up and removed his shirt and tossing it into the laundry with his now messed pink Pocky printed boxers and dark grey cargo shorts.   
  
His grin settled into a small smile as he changed clothes. The sex had not quite felt like he'd thought it would. For one thing he had not expected to feel Asami's sensations. Though that had helped him complete the blow job better than any he'd given before and while it had been glorious to get one over on Asami now he wondered if the sharing of sensations was normal. Did Asami feel what he did to Aki when their minds connected?   
  
Aki pulled on another pair of printed boxers, these covered in tiny multi-tiered cakes across clouds of cotton candy. He covered them with black cargo shorts and a one of the t-shirts his sister had bought him. It was black with 'Doing Unnecessary Things' printed across the front. He was putting on his socks when his thoughts returned to the mental encounter he'd just had.   
  
He shouldn't have let Asami cum; it hadn't been part of his original plan. However, once he'd started he'd gotten too caught up in the feelings he was giving the man to stop. He glanced down at his changed clothes. He needed to work on having better control of himself.   
  
He laughed again though. Asami had been trying to get dressed. He wondered what the man had done after making such a mess of his closet. With amusing thoughts of Asami trying to clean cum off the white leather bench preventing the smug smile from leaving his face, he grabbed his camera bag, slung it over his shoulders, and headed down the stairs to breakfast. It wasn't until he'd eaten his fourth quiche that he realized his upset stomach was gone. 


	11. Connecting

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Aki and his sister spent most of it inside the tall Bashè tower. Both had use of Fie Long's large library and were working at either end of the room. Kaida had set up her computer to record her violin ramblings at the window overlooking downtown Hong Kong. Aki was curled up on a long low couch bent over his portable resting on the low coffee table.  
  
Kaida composed a couple of violin pieces and if Aki knew anything about his sister Kirishima had better come calling with his apology ready. Both pieces were filled with more than just irritation.  
  
He spent the time organizing the hundreds of photos that he'd taken. He separated each set by location, theme, and quality. He took the truly bad ones and put them in the 'for use in collages' folder. He had plans to make a picture of the silver dragon and silver fox from his most recent dreams from them. He remembered the awe Asami had expressed when he'd made them out of light.  
  
When he finished organizing his collection he set about working with the best of them. One was of the Hong Kong night sky during a fireworks show. He wanted to make all the buildings and lights in the photo black and white and leave only the fireworks colored. It was to be the piece he turned in to Aibi-sense for her request that he photograph something which made him smile.  
  
He was bent over his portable computer when he heard the door open. He glanced up to find Kirishima standing in the door frame holding a very large pot of pink and lavender roses. Aki smiled; the man knew better than to bring her cut flowers. He glanced at his sister. She was still composing; her eyes and mind closed to everything but her music.  
  
Aki closed his laptop quietly and stood. Kirishima glanced at him as he squeezed past; Akihito answered the question in his eyes, "It is going to take more than that. She's pretty mad about being sick all this time." He paused when he reached the hallway took a deep breath and looked back at Kirishima, "She loves you. Part of me hates that."  
  
Kirishima started to speak only for Aki to interrupt, "No need to say anything. I'd never stand in the way of her happiness." He started down the hallway, but looked back, "Understand though, you hurt her and not even Asami will be able to protect you."  
  
Kirishima nodded.  
  
"Now go in there and convince her that whatever is making her sick was worth it." Akihito walked away with that. He'd settled a lot of things in his own mind about Asami, lifemates, and even being whatever a Radiant was this morning. He was a little shocked that all it had taken was that little bit of control he'd allowed his self. He was ready to give this a chance, if only because it would make Kaida happy. Maybe this time he'd get to be happy too.  
  
He all but ran to Fei's office door. He knew Asami would be there and he honestly didn't want to wait another minute to see the man, even if it did give away what he was thinking. He did pause to catch his breath once he reached the door. No point in looking desperate.  
  
He'd just raised his hand when the door opened. His eyesight was suddenly full of dark blue linen. Black pearl buttons marched up a broad chest. There were exactly five between the narrow waist and the collar top. Not that Aki had counted them. He would never admit to having watched that closely as the man's long fingers had slipped the buttons loose before shrugging out of his expensive linen shirts.  
  
Aki followed the buttons past the clean jaw and paused at the lips. He licked his own before running his eyes across the sharp cheek bones around the nose to stop at the gold eyes staring down at him. He felt the blush climb from his chest and up his neck before it settled across his upper cheeks.  
  
Asami reached out and cupped one of those pink cheeks with his smirk, "Hello, Kitten."  
  
"Hello." Aki's voice was barely a whisper after all he didn't want to interrupt raising to his toes and kissing the man.  
  
Asami was pleasantly shocked at his unusually aggressive kitten. He didn't waste the boy's effort though and wrapped his arms about Akihito. He quickly took control of the kiss and probed at his boy's lips. Aki moaned as he allowed Asami entry.  
  
Then he fought for control; Asami allowed him to have it back curious what the boy would do. He wasn't disappointed. Aki pushed his tongue into Asami's mouth and set about thoroughly exploring the cavern. He wasn't as smooth as Asami was and he accidently bumped their teeth together but he was certainly eager.  
  
Aki grabbed Asami's shoulders and used them to hoist himself up so he could wrap his legs about the man's waist. Asami instinctively cupped his behind giving up any hope of controlling the kiss in preference to kneading Aki's bottom. Aki used the man's distraction to grab the back of his head and force him to look up.  
  
Akihito raised himself until he was enough above Asami's lips to press upon them harder. He pulled the man's hair and then bit the man's lip before probing the dark wet cavern of his mouth a second time before moving to the man's ear to kiss and lick his way down to Asami's shoulder.  
  
Akihito pushed the dark linen aside as he kissed his way down Asami's neck. Once he reached the shoulder he tugged the man's head to the side with a sharp pull of ebony hair and bit him just to the chest side of his tendon. Blood flowed from the bite and Akihito could feel two sharp eye teeth in his mouth. He sucked on the wound.  
  
Asami groaned and started rubbing their crotches together. He reached between them to loosen their pants. Aki allowed Asami to get as far as unbuttoning them. Asami had to undo his belt to get to the clasp on his. However, before he could get any farther Aki wrest himself from the man's arms, pushing against his chest until he was able to release his legs. He landed on his feet halfway across the hall from the man.  
  
"Nope, we're not continuing this until I give you those ropes back, remember?" He buttoned his shorts before smiling cheekily and walking away.  
  
It was Fei's voice that broke the spell of shock Asami stood in. "I would appreciate it if you and your lifemate didn't engage in that sort of activity in my hallways." He smirked at Asami, "I do have a ten year old son."  
  
Asami coughed, fixed his clothing and turned to look at the Jō behind him, "Sorry, he caught me off guard."  
  
Fei laughed aloud at that and beckoned Asami back into the office, "As you, no doubt, had intended to do to him." He crossed the small room and sat behind the ornate desk, "I agree with Aibi, he's perfect for you. I wish you luck with him." He glanced at a photograph on his desk. "He gave me an earful about Tao. Apparently I am expecting too much from my son's tutors."  
  
"Oh?" Asami sat across from the head of the Tengshe clans, "What did he say?"  
  
"According to him perfection is boring."  
  
Asami laughed, "That sounds like something he'd say." He glanced at the door. He really wanted to chase his kitten down and finish what the little minx had started. However, he could sense Akihito was dancing near the edge of full acceptance. Even though Akihito had figured out how to block most of his thoughts Asami had caught the sense of hope the boy had held as he'd approached the office door. He'd also heard the thought about possibly getting to be happy this time around.  
  
He heard Fei Long snort and glanced back to the man arching an eyebrow at him in question. Fei snorted again, "The two of you are sickening."  
  
Asami hummed in response and sipped his tea before speaking, "In what way?"  
  
Fei shook his head, "I know you sent me Yoh in hopes I'd stop thinking about you." He glanced at his desk where two small portraits sat. One was a much younger Tao holding a printed copy of the document that made him Fei's legal son. The other was of Yoh, dressed in traditional wedding red. "I don't know that I've ever thanked you for that."  
  
Asami smiled, "you and Yoh being happy is enough."  
  
Fei grinned back, "The long term alliance between us can be ended then? I know the Saanp and Jini have been trying to break into our shipping routes and I could make a lot of money."  
  
"Yoh would never let you. He's not fond of tigers" Asami stood, set his tea cup on Fei Long's desk, and walked back to the office door, "Please have my mages' things packed. I'll be taking Akihito, Kaida, and the rest back to Tokyo as soon as tonight's meeting is over."  
  
"Confident of your success with the blood test are you?" Fei's voice teased knowing the outcome as well as his friend did.  
  
Asami smirked, "Only peaches I've encountered in nearly nine hundred years."  
  
Akihito jogged up the flights of stairs between the Bashè offices and the living quarters. He paused for breath as the door to his room closed behind him. He laughed then. The morning's success with mental jerking Asami off and his ability to stop the man mid grope just moments before were invigorating. Asami had no more control over him than he allowed.  
  
The ropes in his desk drawer flitted through his thoughts. Did he trust Asami now? The revelation that the blood exchanges hadn't made him powerless against the man was relieving, but actually allowing the man to tie him? Allowing the man full control willingly was one step farther than Aki felt he was ready for. He crossed the room and picked up the camera bag he'd prepped earlier in the day. He was ready to take some final pictures of Hong Kong.  
  
Asami caught up with his kitten and the boy's guards as they exited the stairs on the ground level of the high-rise. He almost appeared to be waiting on them. Aki paused when he first saw him. Doubt rose over the man's possible reaction to Aki working them up in front of Fei Long's office earlier. However the smirk the man gave him and the arm he wrapped about Aki waist held no anger and Aki allowed the sense of peace the man's touch brought him to wash the doubt away.  
  
They spent the rest of the summer afternoon in the Chinese Garden and Bird Lake areas of Kowloon Park. Asami indulged his Kitten's need to photograph everything including his guards, himself, and Asami. Though Asami did remind the boy that he had to approve any images that the boy wanted to publish of him.  
  
Akihito grinned at that, poking him about his highly cultivated image, "Worried someone might see you smile, bastard? Would that really ruin your badass image in the underworld?"  
  
Asami shook his head, "I doubt any photo you take of me would ruin my image, Kitten." He grabbed the boy's waist and pulled him closer before kissing him. "I just want to be the first to see them."  
  
Aki wiggled his way out of Asami's hold before laughing, "I should totally take an embarrassing one now." He pointed his camera at the man and took several rapid shots.  
  
In truth he doubted anyone could take an embarrassing picture of Asami. Even in the heat of the July day the man appeared cool and collected. It was like the sweat producing heat was afraid of tarnishing the man's image.  
  
Aki moved about the garden pausing every few feet to capture the images he'd not gotten when last there. The sun was setting by the time he decided that the light was no longer right for photos of the water birds. Besides the fowl were settling down for sleep anyway.  
  
He unhooked his lens and stowed it and the camera in his bag. The afternoon had been productive even with the sensual awareness Asami's presence overlaying the hours. He stood and stretched before swinging the messenger like bag over his shoulder and across his chest before turning to look at Asami. The man smiled at him, "Ready for dinner?"  
  
"Do we have time?" Unease crept into Akihito's thoughts. "I kept you out all afternoon. Don't you need to strengthen any deals you made about Kaida and I before the meeting starts?"  
  
Asami pulled him closer, "The Silberdrache and others may believe the blood tests will refute my claim, Kitten. I know better. You, and by extension your sister, are mine and have been since I picked you up in that warehouse." He leaned over and kissed his kitten, "Tonight I will bond with you as Jō and Mage. Between that and being my lifemate you will never escape me."  
  
Aki nodded and burrowed his face into Asami's neck. The man felt his boy take a deep breath then smirk against his skin before his voice said, "You know I plan on testing that often." He looked up with a smile, "I like giving your guards a run for their money."  
  
"You do make them earn their inflated salaries." Asami laughed, "Tell me where you'd like to eat dinner."  
  
"Can we just get some street food?" Aki blushed, "I don't want to have to go back to Bashè tower until I have to."  
  
"Have you been to PMQ?" Asami guided Akihito to their limo. When the boy shook his head no he smiled, "Well I believe you will enjoy it." He helped Akihito into the back of the car and slid in after him. The ten minutes it would take to get there was plenty of time for the seriously heavy petting he intended to give his kitten.  
  
Akihito sat in Asami's council office sipping the heavily honeyed earl grey tea. He'd grown fond of the warm drink over the Saturdays spent with Aibi-sensei and the cup he enjoyed now was only due to her bringing the treat with her to the council meeting.  
  
He also drank as way to calm his nerves. He only partially understood them. It was strange they had been at bay while Asami had indulged him in the delights of the night market.  
  
The older man had spent much of the previous four hours smiling at him without the smirk. The market had been full of people, goods, music, and some of the most delicious smells Aki could remember. It had been like one massive summer festival and Akihito had treated it as such.  
  
He'd eaten until he couldn't hold anymore, often sharing bites of the street food with Asami. The memory of how Asami had taken some of those bites sent shoots of lust up Aki's spin. He shook his head and swallowed another sip of tea. Stop thinking about that!  
  
He turned from memories of the food and smiled as his eyes came to rest on a small Peace Lily settled over a clear vase. The bottom of the vase was covered with small green glass stones and filled with water instead of dirt. Hiding in the mass of thin white flower roots was a bright blue Betta with stark white running along its flowing fins. He'd seen it in a game booth. There had been nearly a hundred tiny fish bowls each with a Betta in it. The blue one had stood out among the purples and reds of the others.  
  
He'd all but dragged Asami to the booth and emptied his wallet in his efforts to put the bouncy ping pong ball into the tiny opening of the fish bowl. It was as he was digging through is short pockets to see if he could try just one more time when Asami grasped his shoulder. Certain the older man had tired of his playing Aki turned to him, "Please, just one more try."  
  
"You want it that badly, Kitten?" Asami had smiled down at him and Aki remembered nodding silently before nodding. "What do I get in return if I win it?"  
  
He hadn't known how to answer and had stared up at the man for several moments before whispering, "What do you want?"  
  
"A gift."  
  
"A gift? From me?" He'd almost stuttered in shock.  
  
The man had smiled at that, "Hum… I like that idea to, but in this case no. I want you to let me give you one. No asking how much it costs, no insisting you don't need it, just acceptance." He'd stroked Aki's cheek with those words leaving heat in the wake of his fingertips.  
  
"But the fish would be."  
  
Asami's finger had halted his words, "Do you want the Betta, Kitten?"  
  
He'd almost shaken his head no, but the man stood there smiling down at him and Aki found he really did want the fish and strangely whatever gift it was that Asami wanted him so badly to just accept. "Ok", then he panicked and qualified, "but just one."  
  
The smirk appeared on the man's face then. He'd shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to Aki to hold. He nodded to the person manning the game and waved his wrist computer over the pay box as the man handed him three tiny bouncing balls.  
  
All three ended up in the blue Betta's small tank. Aki still thinks the man must have cheated, but the soft smile he'd given Aki as the booth attendant told them that since all three balls went into the same bowl they would also get a special tank had Aki swallowing the accusation.  
  
One of their guards carried the plant and fish on their way back to the limo at Asami's request and Aki hadn't protested when the man pulled him flush against his side before the guard passed the water filled vase into Akihito's keeping. Aki spent most of the ride to the meeting location pondering names for his fish. Though he hadn't settled on a name yet Asami had given him some actual laughs at some of his thoughts.  
  
"Why are you blushing?" Aki jerked out of his thoughts and looked up at his sister's smiling face. "You went off into your own thoughts after Takeo brought your tea. You've been blushing ever since."  
  
Aki felt his cheeks darken and cleared his throat before replying, "It's nothing." He glanced around the room to avoid her gaze and found his eyes settling on the fish again.  
  
His sister smiled, "Not likely considering how dark your cheeks have gotten." She sat next to him on the couch and followed his gaze to the peace plant. "Where did you get the fish, Aki?"  
  
"Asami won it for me at PMQ."  
  
"Oh," Aki ended up glancing at his sister again. She was smiling and it made Aki embarrassed.  
  
"I could have won it myself, I just ran out of money." He frowned at his sister when she laughed, "I could have!"  
  
Kaida sobered before asking, "Is it really so bad that Asami-san did something for you without strings?"  
  
He eyes were drawn back to the beautiful fish, "He didn't do it for free." He worried at his bottom lip with that statement then glanced at his sister, "He made me promise something."  
  
"Oh, what?" She settled against the back of the couch pulling her legs up to cross them on the cushion.  
  
"That I'd let him give me a gift without protest or questions." He blushed.  
  
She laughed again, "Oh, he's got you now. When does the promise expire?"  
  
Aki blinked as he thought then he groaned, "No time limit." He brightened up then, "But I only promised to not complain about one. After that he'll need to keep his money to himself."  
  
Kaida patted his thigh, "You know he just wants to take care of you."  
  
"I don't need him to take care of me." He crossed his arms. He didn't want to talk about everything the man had done for him. He was supposed to be working that off; he didn't want Asami's money. He wanted to work for whatever he got. He wasn't some damsel in distress damn it.  
  
The door to the office opened cutting off Akihito's internal monolog. Suoh stood there speaking lowly to Takeo before glancing at the couch. He smiled and walked over to the two teens that had captured the hearts of his two best friends. "They are ready for you."  
  
Kaida stood with a smile. She was radiant gowned in a bright QiPao. The traditional garment had been modernized with navy blue silk instead of red and a a fishtail bottom. However in recognition to the meaning of the dress a beautiful phoenix was embroidered with heavy metallic thread along the front in gold, red and silver. The fishtail bottom was covered in various sized bright gold sun bursts. Her height was raised by French heels of red leather embroidered with blue and silver dragons. She wore the garb with ease and confidence.  
  
Akihito stood more slowly. He was also dressed with a nod to the Chinese traditions only more casually. His high collar jacket was a medium blue and embroidered with both phoenix and dragon along the left breast while along the bottom rolled golden clouds. However instead of silk dress pants and shiny dress shoes, Aki wore dark black jeans and black leather dress boots.  
  
Unlike last time they'd attended a Council meeting it was Akihito that took his sister's hand and led the way to door. He still looked nervous, but even Suoh could see the boy straighten his spine and push away his nerves as he and his sister stood shoulder to shoulder. It made Suoh smile; he could tell the boy had changed in the last few weeks. He was stronger and that was always a good thing.  
  
The procession to through the Chinese Council building was nearly a repeat of their trek through the Japanese one. There were no fewer onlookers in the galleries either. In truth the only difference was that the council chambers itself. It was a tetradecagon, a fourteen-sided polygon, made up of thirteen large desks sitting on raised platforms. Each was backed by solid Stone walls from which hung the Family standard of each councilor and the flag of each region they represented. The fourteenth side was the double door entry by which petitioners entered the chamber and through which Akihito and Kaida entered the chamber now.  
  
They had already been to the building and had been walked through the steps of the ceremony about to take place. Fei had told them they were not petitioning the council for anything. They were fully qualified mages of the People and were only attending the council to hear the results of the tests they had allowed and consider the group's suggestions. Therefore both Akihito and his sister walked over the sun burst centered in the room where petitioners were to stop and wait on the council's decisions and proceeded right up to the front of Aibi's massive desk.  
  
The chamber had been abuzz with whispers. One again Aibi had to pound her gavel and remind the council observers that they were only there at Aki's and Kaida's tolerance. Once the room quieted she turned and smiled at them, "Welcome back, Radiants. The Council of the People is grateful you have allowed us the leisure to explore the best choices for your bonded Jō."  
  
She paused as she looked at the council scribe. Chimon-sensei's finders flew over the infrared key board in front of him and the chamber watched at a blue holographic file flew through the air to land on Aibi's desk before sinking into her tablet. She picked up the tablet asking, "Would you like to know what the tests revealed?"  
  
It was Akihito that shook his head, "The results of your test will not change our minds Aibi-sensei." He turned his body in a circle so he could look at all the council members only continuing once he'd glared at them all and was once again facing Aibi, "My sister and I are not supplicants begging for permission. We are fully capable Mages of the People secure in our own powers, Radiants that wish to bond with Asami Ryuichi and we will do so regardless of this group's wishes."  
  
He ignored the gasps from the gallery as he took his sister's hand and moved to stand in front of Asami's desk. "This is the Jō we belong to."  
  
Asami had risen as they walked his way. He met them on the council floor, stepping up to Akihito's side and wrapping his arm around the boy's waist. He smirked down at Akihito as the boy started blushing.  
  
It was the same Silberdrache secretary that stood and voiced dissension, "We of the Silberdrache still wish proof this is what is best for these young Radiants."  
  
It was Kaida that spoke then. "Then let this be your proof." She turned, stepped up to Asami facing him, and clasped his forearms in her hands.  
  
Asami clasped her arms as well; their wrists rested against each other's on both sides. Kaida allowed her gaze to be captured by the older man's gaze as he spoke the ancient words of binding. Asami's voice was soft and carried over the murmurs of the chamber but even his voice was drowned out by the gasps and mutterings that started when Kaida's eyes started glowing gold.  
  
Akihito however missed most of the crowd's response to the bonding. He was captured with the focus Asami' placed on his sister. For the handful of minutes it took for Asami to finish the words and Kaida to respond it appeared there was no one else in the world Asami was thinking of. Yet, at the same time he felt the man wrap his arms about his own waist and use his thumb to rub soothing circles into the base of his spine. Even as he concentrated on ensuring the bond between him and Kaida took place Asami reached out him, Akihito, and soothed the spiraling emotions the boy was fighting.  
  
_Of course I am, Kitten. Your sister is important to me, yes, but no one will ever be more important than you. ___  
  
Aki allowed the man's baritone to wash over and through him. He's nerves settled and though he carefully kept his face twisted in irritation at the room he smiled mentally.  
  
When the room quieted down Kaida stepped back with a smile. Kirishima had come around the desk as his Jō bonded with his lifemate. Now he took her left hand as Asami offered it to him and led her around the desk to a seat they had prepared with Fei Long earlier.  
  
Asami glanced at Akihito and smiled softly, "Your turn." He offered his left hand palm up.  
  
The crowd started whispering again when Aki took the offered arm not in his right hand as Kaida had but with his left, before placing his right hand palm up just below their now joined left arms. Asami had asked him to grasp his arms this way to show the chamber that they were already joined as lifemates. Only lifemates joined as bonded mages with their left pulse point together. It had no actual effect on the bonding, but was highly symbolic.  
  
When Asami bonded with Kaida he spoke the words in the oldest spoken tongue of the People. The words had mattered less than what Asami's magic channeled them into and like using Latin for a Catholic Mass the ancient language was only ceremonial.  
  
Asami wanted the boy to understand not just the spiritual joining of their magic but the emotional intent behind Asami's desire to keep and protect him. So he gathered the threads of magic fed to him by all his other mages and wrapped his and Akihito's joined arms in their familiar colors before kneeling to one knee. Then he spoke softer than he had with Kaida.  
  
I,  
  
Asami Ryuichi,  
  
of the Asami Kitsune Family of Edo in the Musashi Province of Nippon,  
  
request you,  
  
Takaba Akihito,  
  
of the Takaba Family of Yokohama in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan  
  
take me as your official Jō.  
  
Will you allow me to be the conduit of your magic  
  
and to guide the growth of your powers;  
  
will you grant me the privileges  
  
of overseeing your training,  
  
preserving your health,  
  
and protecting your life until time ends?  
  
  
  
Akinto's whole world had narrowed to the look in Asami's eyes as the man whispered those words to him. He felt the man mentally cup his cheek as his other hand still rubbed soothing circles into the base of his spine. Unlike with his sister all of Asami's attention was truly focused on him.  
  
He knew Asami wasn't just asking to be his leader. At least that was only half and the lessor half in Akihito's opinion of what the man was asking him. Only the first half of the man's word had been part of the official ritual. The question detailing what Asami wanted to do for him were just the man's way of explaining to him, Akihito, what the man meant when he called Akihito lifemate.  
  
The promise of safety in the man's eyes made Akihito choke on his answer. In his head Aki was yelling yes needing the whole room to hear. In reality all he could do was allow the tears flooding his eyes to trickle down his face as he nodded.  
  
The crowd around them had groused that they could not hear the words Asami said to the boy, but everyone grew silent when not only did Akihito's eyes begin to glow gold but both his and Asami's body's became engulfed by a bright white glow which when it dimmed revealed their Kitsune forms.  
  
Sitting where the two had stood was Asami's larger than life black fox form leaning protectively over the much smaller silver fox form of Akihito.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Kaida's Gown](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/lace-red-modern-oriental-wedding-dresses-chinese-traditional-cheongsam-formal-long-dress-traditions-blue-for-women/32695152897.html)   
> [Aki's Jacket (First Image)](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Chinese-men-s-clothing-Traditional-Groom-wedding-Chinese-Ancient-Costume-Blue-Red-Tunic-Tang-Suit-Gown/32800319221.html)  
> [ French Heels (item 20)](https://www.beclickless.com/blogs/heel-to-toe/14217957-25-types-of-heels-the-ultimate-guide)


	12. When the Past Comes Haunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have posted two chapters today, If you are starting your pickup at chapter 12, I encourage you to return to chapter 11 and read it first.

Three weeks later Akihito descended Aibi-sensei's front steps with a skip and hop that overshot most of them. It has been a productive day and he absent mindedly nodded at Takeo who held open the back door of the BMW. His mind was consumed with the image of the summer sun shining through the old oak in Aibi-sensei's garden sending bright beams of light directly upon the purple flowers of the Siberian Irises Aibi had planted around the trunk of the tree.  
  
He'd used up an entire memory stick taking images of the scene from every angle including from below the tall flower's leaves. Now he was pondering the best way to expose the images and arrange them for the birthday gift he had planned for his teacher.  
  
An open water bottle was thrust into his hands causing him to look up from his thoughts as he settled into the back seat of the vehicle, "huh?"  
  
Takeo gave the bottle a small shake, "Aibi-sensei says you skipped tea this afternoon. Asami-sama will be very angry with us if you get dehydrated."  
  
Aki grinned and took the bottle. "Thanks, Takeo. Last thing we need is the bastard mad."  
  
The guard grimaced and nodded his head. He closed the door and went around the car sliding into the operator's seat and buckling up before instructing the car to take them out into traffic.  
  
Aki glance over the backs of the front seats asking, "Where are Kano and Toshiro?"  
  
"They are at a Sion security briefing, Takaba-sama."  
  
Aki smiled thinking, maybe Asami's finally accepted I can take care of myself and don't need three baby sitters? He looked out at the traffic before asking "I'm surprised Asami didn't send replacements. How did you get the short straw?"  
  
"I do not know sir; I am merely following orders."  
  
Aki nodded and swallowed the rest of the small water bottle. His thoughts turned back to his teacher's present wondering if it would be appropriate to place the collage of images he had planned in an oak frame. He thought of the various presentations different frames would give the work as the sun slowly sank behind them. It was as the light bounced off the operator's rearview mirror that Akihito became concerned. The sun shouldn't be directly behind them if they were traveling from Aibi-sensei's back to the penthouse.  
  
He looked back at Takeo who was paying him an unusual amount of attention, "Um, Takeo, I thought we were headed home?" He realized how thick and heavy his tongue felt in his mouth and he suddenly wanted more water to drink.  
  
Takeo didn't answer him but kept close eye on his face. It was then that Aki thought to reach for his wrist computer; he'd just ask Asami where he was being taken. The bastard was going to be disappointed if he thought Aki was going to spend the evening out tonight. He had entrance exams to study for damn it.  
  
Panic set in when he found he couldn't move his arms. He looked back at Takeo who was now speaking quietly into his own wrist computer or not. Aki realized that the communication device his guard was using was not the white fox emblazoned Sion corporation issued wrist devices, but instead were solid black with a single scale lidded eye carved into the plastic.  
  
He tried to speak again; he tried to ask his guard what was going on. He could no longer move his tongue.  
  
Akihito watched in growing fear as the BMW was pulled into the park near one of his favorite photography locations. He tried to fight as his guard pulled him from the back seat but none of his limbs would respond to his commands and the man dragged his limp form from the vehicle like a sack of potatoes.  
  
He was unceremoniously dropped at the feet of someone he never thought he'd see again. It was the dark haired man from the brothel Akihito had escaped the night Asami had found him and his sister. He was just as hairy as Aki remembered and still had the small goatee. He still wore his fitted flashy shirt open except for the last two buttons showing off the piles of curled chest hair, his eyebrows were still bushy, and his head was still crowned with thick long curly greasy looking locks. He even still wore black, thick framed glasses. Other than the color of his open shirt he was exactly as Akihito remembered him.  
  
The man smiled down at him, "Ah, I can tell by the look in your eyes you remember me. Good." He leaned down, picked Aki up, and tossed him over his shoulder. He glanced at Takeo, "make sure the car is destroyed."  
  
Aki watched as his own guard started planting small squares of plastic in and around the BMW. He tried to scream again only to find himself slipping into blackness.  
  
When he woke again it was to find he'd been tied to a support beam of shipping container. He only recognized what it was from his and Kaida's days of living on the old Tokyo Bay shipping wharves. They had first tried sleeping in one of the abandoned containers only to find that the really old ones couldn't be opened from the inside. It was only Aki's parkour skills that had allowed them to escape the only one the two of them had ever tried. That and luck there was a caved in top to the thing that he'd been able to squeeze past once he reached the opening.  
  
Now he found himself balancing on his toes as the brothel owner had strung him up by wrapping his arms in rope before tossing a long end around the beam above him and pulling his body up by his arms. He was hanging by just his arms over his head and from the pain in them Aki figured it had been for several hours. His feet just brushed the floor and he was pushing up on his toes to relieve the stress on his shoulders when the door to the container opened.  
  
Shock caused him to stop pushing up with his toes. Behind the brothel own Sudo Shu and Takeo entered the container. There were four other men carrying chairs with them but Akihito didn't recognize them. Sudo smiled at the brothel owner as he sank into one of the chairs the men placed in front of Aki, "Thank you for letting me watched the show, Sakazaki."  
  
The brothel owner smiled back at the bleached blonde, "Anything for you beautiful." The large man grasped Aki by the hair and yanked him up off his feet. The pressure in his shoulders and arms ceased so suddenly it hurt. Aki nearly screamed. Sakasaki laughed, "Found your voice did you?"  
  
He kissed Akihito's lips, forcing the boy to open his mouth by pressing his thumbs into Aki's jaw. Akihito repaid the man by biting his tongue.  
  
Sakasaki yelled into the kiss, but Aki held onto the man's tongue until the burly oaf started squeezing his throat. Only when Aki realized he couldn't' breath any more did he release the man's tongue.  
  
Sakasaki tasted the blood from his torn mouth. He went red with anger and spent several minutes punching the boy in his stomach and kidneys. Aki threw up when he finished. The man stepped back and gestured to the other four men in the container.  
  
They came forward and cut Akihito's clothes from him. Then they tied ropes to each of his ankles before forcing his legs apart by pulling the ropes and tying them to either side of the container walls. When they were done his feet no longer touched the ground and he was exposed entirely. Three of four men moved back behind their boss while the other stayed behind Akihito.  
  
Aki didn't realize what was happening until the second strike. It took that long for the burn of the lash to reach his still sluggish brain. He lost count of the number of times the whip struck him. He did know the man didn't keep the strikes on his back. Often the end of the weapon would wrap around his legs and torso to slap against the tender skin on the inside of his thighs and along his chest and that once the man finished he was covered in bleeding welts.  
  
Sakasaki rose and ran a finger down the back of one of his legs smiling before looking at Sudo, "I think he's ready for your boss's drugs."  
  
One of the men with them that Aki had no name for came forward with a bag of saline and an IV kit. He swiftly set the IV into Akihito's right arm and hung the bag above his head by sticking one of Aki's fingers through the small hole for hooking it to an IV pole. Then Aki watched as Sudo prepped two syringes. He wanted to fight, to pull away from the needles, but he had no more strength. Sudo spoke to him as he pushed the liquid into his veins, "Mathias told me to tell you not to worry about your sister. He is taking care of her."  
  
He needed to lash out at his tormentors. They had Kaida, he had to get free and save her. In desperation he tried to call the light to him. Instead of moldable protons flooding his hands and eyes Aki's body froze then his skin bloomed into fire. It was a far greater pain than he'd felt from the whip. He screamed.  
  
When Aki woke the second time it was cold. His skin where not bruised was covered in goose bumps and his breath fogged in the air. He could tell he was moving, the vibration of the vehicle traveling through the ropes from which he hung. Though he now stood upon steel flooring of the container his arms were still bound over his head and the IV still dripped into his veins.  
  
He tried to gather enough light to see his surroundings but like before he only felt pain and the attempt to pull it forth made him nauseous. He tried to reach out to Asami but the headache that brought on only succeeding causing him to throw up the bile in his stomach.  
  
The container came to a halt. He heard voices and the sound of sliding doors. He want to cry out but Sudo had place two pieces of mesh in his throat just before Sakasaki and his men had taken turns raping him. The devices still prevented him from making any sound.  
  
The door to his traveling prison opened. A new face smiled at him. There was a scar running down the man's face almost glowing in the low light. Aki pulled himself straighter, preparing to fight who ever came into the small space to retrieve him. A bright light blinded him momentarily as a large dark figure moved into the truck. He felt the hand pressing against the brand Asami had given him. Then a voice from his past, one he had until this moment not remembered whispered in his ear. "This will have to go. You are Aloysius' property and my toy."  
  
The voice paused to bite Akihito's ear. "You remember, don't you, wertloser fuchs (worthless fox)?"  
  
Aki did remember as hundreds of memories he'd locked behind the story he'd told the orphanage, the lies about himself he'd told the Takabas, and the tales he'd spun for Kaida came rushing through his mind.  
  
He'd only scratched the surface of what the images and sounds coursing through his mind displayed when he'd shakily confessed his deepest sin to Asami. The beatings and the starvation because he refused to submit to the man whispering in his ear, the drugs and the wounds visited upon him because he'd failed to please, and worse the sight of Kaida standing next to the man watching as the scientist forced themselves into his body.  
  
She cried and screamed reaching for him only to be held back by the man's strong arms her teddy bear dropped to the floor and forced to sit in the man's lap on the short white couch as he was punished for be so worthless.  
  
A hand came around, grasped his penis, and squeezed it painfully. Aki rose to his toes with a silent scream. The man at his ear laughed and jerked the tender member hard and dry. He gripped one of Aki's already bruised hips, digging his fingers into the skin until his nails cut the tender flesh.  
  
The man ran his hand around Akihito's hipbone over the boy's now straining penis to lay his palm flat on the boy's lower stomach. He pressed down just before fire ran along Aki's nerve endings as the man branded his Jō's mark into Akihito's skin. "I'll leave the Kitsune's mark for now. It will serve as a reminder of what could have been. If only you were so useless."  
  
The man stepped back blocking the bright light that had forced his eyes closed. The beating and rape from Sakazaki and his men earlier was all but forgotten. The man standing before him would do much worse.  
  
Mathias Vurste, lead scientist for Doppelhelix, the German bio tech research company that had revolutionized the treatment of disease in the early twenty-second century was everything movies and books made evil scientist out to be. He was vain, egotistical and a megalomaniac. He published works about the use of gene therapy to cure genetic diseases and train the human body to build better defenses against infections.  
  
What he really did was use the technology to create genetically customized children which only one of every four or so dozen met his buyers criteria. The extras, at least of the ones that survived birth were sold on the open slave market as soon as buyers were found.  
  
Aki only knew this because the man was fond of spouting his many achievements as he tortured him. Aki remembers being taken to one of the sales not long before he and Kaida escaped. He'd been forced to watch as children no older than he was were staged naked for people he couldn't see bid on them. Mathias had spent the evening forcing Aki to service him and anyone else that joined his table at the event.  
  
A memory of Kaida holding him while he cried and promising him that it would be ok, she'd figured out how to get them out of the place rose in his mind. Aki wondered why his brain messed up that part. It had been Kaida that had cried and he'd been the one to promise to get them out of the place.  
  
His thoughts were abruptly brought back to the present when the rope above his head was cut. Mathias laughed as he dropped the floor before grabbing his tied arms and dragged him out of the container.  
  
Aki tried to look around as he was dragged along but he couldn't really see anything until the scientist stopped, yanked him to his feet, and shoved him into a small glass walled room. The ropes tying his arms together were cut off him and he was tossed a pouch of liquid. He heard Mathias say, "You'd better eat it all. It is all you're going to get for a while."  
  
Asami reached for Akihito. He still met the blank black wall he'd been getting for the past three days. He pressed his fingers to his head as the impact caused him to roll over the edge of the bed and throw up, yet again. He rolled onto his back with his eyes closed. A cool cloth was placed on his brow. Had anyone but Kaida done it, he'd have snarled at them. As it was the sweet smell of plums actually soothed him. He could tell Kirishima was close from the strong smell of wasabi.  
  
"Has anyone found anything?" He cracked his eyelids and looked at his best friend only to close them again when Kei shook his head no.  
  
The original pain from the block to his lifemate had hit him as he was leaving the Sion offices. He had just stepped from the elevator chatting with Kei about the charity event coming up in three weeks and how he'd like the man's help in getting a tux fitted for Akihito so the boy could join him. Kei had nodded and added the tailor visit to the list of items he would schedule the following morning.  
  
Asami sped up after the man's nod eager to reach the penthouse and see what Aki had cooked for their dinner that night. Only the concrete floor of his building's garage fell out from under him.  
  
He remembered Kei grabbing his arm and preventing him from falling on his face. It had taken Asami several breaths to figure out what had happened. He'd been thinking about his boy and like he'd done every time since becoming the boy's Jō he'd automatically reached out to connect to him. Only that time he'd hit what he could only describe as a long black wall. It was then and was now physically painful when he encountered it.  
  
In a panic he'd reached out over and over that night until the pain in his head had caused him to throw up. Now he threw up each and every time he reached out and found the wall still up. He prayed again that whatever was causing it wasn't hurting his Kitten.  
  
They only had two clues to his boy's whereabouts. Not that either had done them much good. First the car that Asami had put at Akihito's disposal had been found in the boy's favorite park. It had been blown up luckily forensic had shown that no one had been in the vehicle when it burned. Secondly, two of Akihito's guards had been found drugged and tied up in the penthouse basement storage room.  
  
Kano and Toshiro were still hospitalized, both in comas from reactions to the drug used to subdue them. That was the real clue. The drug was designer and the parts making it up were currently only found in one place, well in one place together. He owed Fei Long for that information and Suoh. It had been the head of the Bashé that remembered one of the components of the drug being in both Yoh's and Tao's systems when they had been kidnapped the first time many years ago, but it had been Suoh that thought to contact the man to see if the two were similar. The drug in their systems was different but Yoh and Tao had been taken by Aloysius Verräter to be guinea pigs for his pet scientist and a search of purchases across the world had found that the chemical in question along with the other components of the drug laying two of his best men out in the hospital were only bought in bulk by one company, Doppelhelix.  
  
That however had taken until just hours before to learn. Now they waited in Sion offices while the Bashé leader, his lifemate, and several hundred of his clan flew to Tokyo to help prepare for war. Mikhail had promised he and his own contingent of men would meet them in Germany.  
  
Fei Long swept into Asami's office. On any other day he'd take umbrage at the dragon's audacity. Today he just rose unsteadily to his feet and stumbled out of the bedroom attached to his office. He had to lean against the wall for several breaths before he could finish making his way to his large desk.  
  
He set his hand flat on top of the desk as he lowered himself into his leather chair. An image of his kitten naked and spread out on the top of it rose to his mind. It was a day dream he'd had several times since Akihito and his sister had started living with him. Usually it brought a quiet chuckle from his chest and smirk to his lips. This time his brain immediately tried to reach his lifemate again. Only Kirishima's reflexes saved the bile he threw up from ending up on the floor.  
  
A silver flask was pressed into his hands and Fei's voice ordered him, "Drink it."  
  
Asami glared up at him before pushing the flask back at him. "I don't need to get drunk, dragon. I need to find my lifemate."  
  
"It's not alcohol, you stupid fox." Fei paused and took a deep breath, "Well not entirely." He pushed the flask back towards Asami. "Just drink it."  
  
Asami pushed the flask back, "No, I need to be sober if he reaches for me."  
  
Fei took him by surprised by grabbing the back of his hair and forcing the flask between his lips. He pressed his lips together and shook the Chinese leader off of him. He was about to surge to his feet to punch the man when Aibi's voice rang over the den they were making, "really you two!"  
  
She strode into the room with a frown on her face, "our radiant is missing and the two of you are acting like teenagers fighting over a love interest."  
  
She grabbed the flask from Fei long and took a swig before passing it to Asami, "it's an herbal migraine extract. Even better it will dampen your need to connect with your lifemate. It is made of extracts from Feverfew, Butterbur, Ginger, Lavender, Basil, and Peppermint. We've used it for generations to ease Lifemate Separation Syndrome. Drink it, or you'll be useless before we reach the boy."  
  
Asami glared at Fei Long before taking the flask and downing the contents, "Why didn't you just say that?"  
  
Fei shrugged, "You were being stubborn. According to Kei you've refused to take it for several days."  
  
Asami glanced at his best friend, "Is this that tea you've been trying to get me to drink?"  
  
Kei nodded, "You haven't been really listening to any of us the past few days. The length of time your head is clear has gotten less and less over the past few days. I figured Fei Long could irritate you enough to pay attention." He looked over at Aibi, "though perhaps I should have invited Aibi over to speak with you first."  
  
Asami shook his head, "Sorry, every time I think about him…." He trailed off then looked up as he realized that his brain hadn't automatically reached for his boy that time. "What does that tea do?"  
  
Aibi smiled, "Most of the ingredients just ease tension and reduce swelling and extracts of them separately are often used for headache relief, but for some reason when combined as they are in that flask members of the People find it helps control their brain's automatic connection to their lifemates." She shrugged and pulled a small glass bottle from the bag she carried. "I had just finished making some for you which is why I'm late getting here."  
  
Asami took the bottle she offered and opened it. It smelled like the stuff he'd just drunk flowery and sweet with thick notes of whiskey." He looked up at Aibi asking, "How much of this will I have to down to continue functioning?"  
  
"I don't know. It differs with each lifemate. However if you feel the urge to reach for him and it's not part of the plan I'd take a small sip. A few drops held on your tongue for a couple of minutes before swallowing will often speed up the process."  
  
He slipped the bottle into his coat pocket and looked at the people standing in his office. "I apologize now for anything I may have said or threaten over the past few days. Can we please move on from it and plan on how we're going to get Akihito back now."  
  
Fei laughed, "The great Asami Ryuichi apologizing when he doesn't even know what he might have done." He settled in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk, "The boy really is good for you. Let's get him back."  
  
The light came on blinding Aki just before the voice echoed through the room. "Good morning wertloser, I have something new for you today." The door to the glass walled room slid open and two large men entered with chains.  
  
Aki stood and allowed them to chain his hands behind his back and his feet together before grabbing his upper arm and directing him down the long bright hallway. He steadfastly refused to look into the other glass walled rooms they past. Not everyone locked up were whole.  
  
While a lot of the rooms were empty the ones that were occupied were often terrifying. They contained young boys or girls often being tortured. Some were strung out on drugs and others were hooked up to strange machines. All of them were silently screaming. The worse ones however were the ones that just sat in their room silently rocking back and forth. Aki tried hard not to think of the horrors that had been visited on them.  
  
He wasn't certain how many days he'd been here. His brain had counted seven sleep cycles but Aki knew that Mathias would often drug his victims to force them to sleep only to wake the victim hours later like it was a new day. The same routine would be used each time. He felt that was probably happening to him. Every time Akihito was woken the man would repeat the same phrase "Good Morning wertloser. Followed typically by hints about what torture Aki would suffer."  
  
So far the man had used a machine to rape him. It had felt like hours that the mechanical dildo had been forced in and out of his body while another had encompassed his own penis stroking and forcing numerous orgasms from him. He seemed to remember several works coming in and collecting the bag that his cum gathered in and changing the saline bag they'd hooked to the port they'd placed in his neck.  
  
The next waking period he'd been tied down and forced to watch as Mathias had operated on a little boy removing his liver and kidneys while the child was awake. The look of horror on the child's face still haunted him. After that Mathias had sat on the white leather couch from Aki's earliest memories while the man's cohorts beat him before using his body for their own pleasure. Aki passed out on his own that time.  
  
That had been nearly three sleep cycles ago and the last three had been surprisingly calm. The workers had done nothing more than wake him up and chain him in the middle of the room. Another group would come in and hookup various drips to his port. Most of the mixtures caused his body to spasm in acute pain. Fire and ice ran through his veins in equal measure. Some of the drugs had made him hallucinate, he would have sworn Asami had rescued him and taken him back to the penthouse.  
  
He clung to that dream; each sleep cycle Mathias took pleasure in giving him another dose of whatever Sudo had given him the first night. He wasn't certain what the drug was but he was certain it was the reason he couldn't connect to his lifemate though the separation wasn't causing him any sickness this time.  
  
Other things did though. He still had difficulty keeping the meals the orderlies force fed him. He wasn't certain what was in the gruel but it turned his stomach every time and after they fed him, his gut would churn. Then when they would return after what felt like hours they'd force him to expel the gruel and pump his stomach and bowels full of water before draining him.  
  
Now he looked and felt like he often had in the months before Asami had found him and Kaida in on the Tokyo docks only worse. His muscles had no strength and it was painful to swallow or hold anything in his stomach. Not that the organ understood that. It growled often which now brought about a fist to his stomach or kidneys. Mathias found it offensive his stomach didn't think it had been fed enough.  
  
They reached the door to Mathias' private room. Aki had not been in here since the first wake cycle. Mathias had had him brought to the room's door where he'd been shown a chain attached to the wall near the man's bed and reminded of the number of times he'd been attached to it as a child and of the number of times he'd been chained down to the bed. The room had been dusty that day, it had even smelled musty and unused.  
  
Today the room was clean much of the furniture had been replaced including the bed. Aki was brought into the room where he was forced to kneel and his feet and wrists were chained to a ring in the room's floor. The collar on his neck was turned so that the ring in it could be threaded with another chain that was also attached to ring on the floor. They left him in his forced kneeling with his neck tugged back hard enough that if he attempted to lower his head and relieve the pressure on the back of his head the collar choked him.  
  
He wasn't certain how long he stayed that way but it was the sound of the door opening that had him opening his eyes. A young girl was brought past his vision. She was naked and Mathias smiled as the orderlies leading her chained her to the bed. The placed her on her back and chained her hands and ankles to each corner leg. Then they pushed several pillows under her lower back forcing her to bend backwards over them. They raised her hips and exposed her obscenely to anyone that stood in the room.  
  
Aki closed his eyes when Mathias ran his hand over the girl's bare ankle over her calf and up along her inner thigh. He heard the man lay next to the girl before he chuckled. "You think I'm going to have sex with her?"  
  
Aki didn't respond. First his voice still didn't work and he wasn't going to give the man the satisfaction of a physical response. His eyes snapped open though when the girl cried out in pain.  
  
Mathias chuckled again, "You'd better answer wertloser. Every time you don't I'll hurt her." He climbed off the bed and stood over Akihito, "I might only start with slaps but you know what I'll eventually reach." Flames danced over the man's fingers.  
  
Aki nodded slowly and the man laughed again, "I'm not. She's for you." He laughed at the look of disgust that crossed Aki's face. "Oh, I know you won't ever actually lay with her." He picked up a large syringe from the room's desk. It was filled with white liquid. "I however will do it on your behalf."  
  
He went back to the bed and Aki watched in horror as Mathias shoved the large syringe into the girl like a dildo. He forced it into her until his own hand was passed her opening.  
  
He pumped it several times before pulling it out and shoving a much larger plastic dildo into her and trapping it in place with leather straps about her thighs, hips and waist. He picked up the syringe again and brought it over to Aki, "There now the cum of nine orgasms is trapped in the body of that lush young girl. She only became fertile yesterday or I'd have done this sooner." He tapped the plastic device against Akihito's nose.  
  
He crossed to the desk and picked up a plastic bag, "and if this doesn't work then I still have this half to shove in the next one." He laughed again as Aki recognized the bag from the cycle Mathias had hooked him to the sex machine. The man dropped them back on the desk top and knelt in front of Akihito. "It's true; the child born of this will be yours."  
  
He glanced at the girl, "you shouldn't have run away wertloser. I had grown to love your body." He turned back and ran a finger down Aki's chest before grabbing his penis and squeezing. "Now you're too old." He jerked Aki's penis back and forth as he tapped his own chin. "I tried others, blondes, brunettes, red heads, but none of them matched you. They were too short, too wide, or just plain too docile. I even tried making my own custom one, but I could never get the hair color right."  
  
He stood, "so I knew that I'd have to get you back. If only so that I could make a duplicate of you." He crossed the room and knocked on the door. When it opened the orderlies from the morning came in the room. "Take our sperm donor back to the collection room. The girl on the bed might have some recessive genes that interfere and I need to get several of them pregnant to ensure success."  
  
They dragged Aki off with that statement and hooked him back up to the sex machine. He screamed in his head, begging that Asami came to save him soon, or at least before any of the Mathias's plans came to fruition.  
  



	13. Memories Run Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

Kaida leaned against the tall windows of her Jo's office atop the Berlin skyscraper that was Sion's German location. It was raining and the dark clouds shadowing the city outside reflected her equally dark mood back at her through the tempered glass. Warm arms wrapped about her as Kei's hands came to rest on her stomach. "You should rest."   
  
Kaida nodded but did no more than lean back into her lifemate's chest, "I know I need to. I just can't." She closed her eyes. "We've never been this far apart before and it hurts."   
  
Kei pulled her closer and stroked one of her arms. "We'll find him, Kaida, Asami will never give up."   
  
She looked up, "I know." She turned in his arms, "I just want him home. He needs to know he's going to be an uncle and I need him playing tag with you about what and when I eat." She smiled up at her lifemate, "I miss his overbearing pestering."   
  
Kei laughed softly before picking Kaida up, "Come, there is a small bedroom off my office; you can rest there." He shook his head when she grabbed his arm answering her question before she could voice it, "I promise to wake you as soon as we learn anything."   
  
Asami watched from the open door to his own attached bedroom. He'd just exited the shower and dressed in clean clothing. Now instead of the wrinkled dress pants and linen shirt he wore loose cargo pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, thick socks, and a flak jacket all in dark ebony. He waited until his closest Earth and his Radient lifemate left the room. It wasn't that he begrudged them their closeness but that it only reminded him of the fact his was currently lost to him.   
  
The office was laid out to match the one Tokyo. In truth other than the city outside the windows and the colors of the room it was an exact duplicate. The familiarity was calming. It was relieving to know that it was only three steps from the desk to the room's wet bar and that it was only five steps from there to the small seating area of dark leather sofas arranged to both allow the users to gaze upon the German capital and converse with each other.   
  
He crossed the short distance between the small bedroom and his desk to settle into his chair allowing the familiar creak of leather as he sat to sooth the tenseness in his shoulders. He leaned back, stretched his legs out under his wide desk, and closed his eyes. He allowed memories of Akihito to flit across his mind's eye.   
  
He felt the warm water as it soaked his suit the first night the boy had been in his penthouse. He felt the mirth rise to war with worry in his throat as the boy's guards reported yet again the boy had snuck away from their watch. He didn't fight the lust as it rose with curling warmth in his lower belly with the memory of Akihito's face as he'd watched Tachibana practice his art upon his sub. His memory paused there unwilling to move past the boy's face in that moment.   
  
Asami knew it was the last tug of ropes and parting that was happening in the memory. He could tell by the dueling emotions of longing and distrust that flit across his lifemate's eyes before settling into mild discontent and curiosity over a deep unconscious desire to trust anyone the way Tachibana's sub trusted him.   
  
_I do trust you._   
  
Asami's eyes snapped open as he frantically grasped at the connection his lifemate had just made. Pain lanced across his brain, but this time instead of the long black wall he found himself looking at a sterile white walled room. He wasn't certain how he knew but visions of mountains and a lone burned out castle crowded into his brain. It was followed by hallway after hallway of glass walled rooms containing a child; each child suffering brutal horror. He jerked to his feet letting loos a long primal howl.   
  
The guards threw the doors to his office open, weapons drawn and pointed in front of them to eliminate whatever it was that had caused the terrifying sound to be loosed from their clan leader's muzzle. All they found was their leader in his fox form, all nine tails whipping through the air as he snarled at their presence.   
  
Both stood in utter terror until strong hands came to rest on their shoulders pulling them from the opening and a deep voice instructed them to return to their vigil at the door. Then they were passed by Suoh, Kirishima, Takato, and Kou as they slipped into their own fox forms. The last thing the guards saw as they pulled the double doors close were four human sized red foxes crawl on their bellies to a larger than life black furred Kitsune.   
  
Akihito whined in his throat. He'd been dreaming of Asami again. He shuddered and opened his eyes. It had been at least a day since he'd last seen anyone. Not even the orderlies that usually fed him had come through the doors, though he clearly remembered their last visit.   
  
He'd long stopped fighting what they did to him. Moving as directed and just closing his eyes as they attached him to whatever torture device they intended to use on him. It had caused them to start talking to each other as they maneuvered him inot position or removed him to drag him back to his room.   
  
Last evening, or whenever it was, they had talked about the attacks that had apparently been suffered by two other Doppelhelix facilities. One had mentioned that the scientist at each had been forced to open the most secret of the vaults at both locations and now the European Union forces were on the move. The other had laughed saying, "It doesn't matter. This place isn't part of the actual company. Master Vurste and Lord Verräter don't even have this facility on any paperwork. The money is routed to the castle coffers above us. As far as anyone knows this is just a historical site Lord Verräter had rebuilt as part of his German heritage."   
  
The other had grunted, "Yeah I suppose Berchtiesgaden isn't a likely target for searching either as the Castle was given over to the city as a gift." The man in green scrubs laughed then as they clipped the last chain in place leaving Akihito kneeling on the cold tiled floor. "They don't know about this place, resting right under the old stones."   
  
They'd left the room with the lights off after that and now it had been several hours since the time they should have returned. Akihito didn't know why but he was grateful. The drugs they fed him every morning had dissipated in the hours he'd knelt on the cold floor and his mind had stopped feeling pain as he thought about his lifemate.   
  
It had been relief to touch the man's mind and find he was thinking of him as much as he thought of him. Akihito had been so relieved to find they were still connected that he'd just watched as Asami allowed memories of Aki flit through his thoughts. It wasn't until Asami reached the image of Akihito and recognized the look in Akihito eyes that Aki spoke.   
  
He'd desperately needed the man to know that he, Akihito, did trust Asami Ryuichi. So he'd spoken, "I do trust you." The words opened the connection and Aki found his mind crowded with Asami's presence. They held each other as Asami apologized over and over.   
  
Akihito hadn't been able to do much more than cry but somehow he'd known the man was running through Akihito's memories. It was through that activity Aki figured out he'd been trapped with Vurste for almost four weeks. The connection cut off abruptly when the lights switched on nearly blinding Akihito.   
  
Vurste's voice sounded over the speakers, "Did you miss me, wertloser fuchs?"   
  
Aki choose to not respond as he desperately tried reconnecting with his lifemate. The best he could do however was a fleeting whisper telling him that Asami was coming for him. He just had to hold on.   
  
The doors to his cell slid open and the two orderlies came in and hooked up a new bag of liquid to his port. Two syringes of gold colored syrup passed into his veins, but this time the drugs didn't have the same effect. He felt fire run through his blood. But it didn't originate from the drugs.   
  
This fire wasn't comfortable, but it didn't contain the searing pain the drugs usually gave him and when the heat of it left him he found that he didn't feel disconnected from his powers as he normally did. The fire had burned the drugs from his system. Akihito almost couldn't hide his grin, but when the orderlies unhooked his chains and dragged him into Vurste's presence none of them could tell that he had retained control of his own faculties.   
  
Akihito allowed them to drag him past the other cells. This time though he counted the children in them. He came up with nine, four less than he'd counted the first day he'd been dragged down the halls. Two were the young female teens syringes Vurste had raped with syringes filled with Akihito's sperm. Collected from the machine they'd been strapping him into nearly every day.   
  
Today however they pulled him past the room that held it. They took him past bedroom Vurste had raped both the girls and him in and down a set of stairs leading deeper into the facility. The whole way Vurste talked. It was like the man wanted Akihito to know every horror he'd ever visited upon another. He talked about his 'other' project.   
  
They had finally created another Radiant and Lord Aloysius wanted the girl and Akihito to meet. The man wandered if the girl would respond to Akihito's presence as his sister had. So Vurste was moving Akihito.   
  
They stopped in front of a large oak door. It was entirely made of wood, even the hinges, and surrounded by stone. The door opened and they shoved Akihito through it and then dragged him across the stone floor. Akihito glanced up and he heart froze. A young girl hung from long chains against the far wall. He wanted to look down at the floor, but like the two times Vurste had wanted him to watch as them man pumped Akihito's sperm into unwilling receptacles they chained him kneeling on the floor with his head pulled back by the collar around his throat.   
  
The girl was probably around fifteen with long curly red hair tangled about her head and shoulders. She was lightly freckled across her nose and cheeks and upon her shoulders and chest, the small brown dots contrasting with her otherwise alabaster skin. She strained to stand on her toes. Chains ran from the dark ceiling to wrap about her lower arms and wrists and hoist her body up just far enough that her weight rested on her shoulders. She looked down at Akihito blankly.   
  
The orderlies that had dragged Akihito through the facility and chained him in the middle of the stone room started unchaining the girl. They pulled a white gown over her head before wrapping her arms about a large brown teddy bear with a floppy green bow about its neck.   
  
Memories flooded Akihito's brain. The bear was Kaida's it was the same one she'd held in every nightmare Akihito had had about their time as children in Vurste's company, but the overriding memory was of the day Kaida had received it.   
  
They had been allowed to see their mother. It was their birthday after all. Master Aloysius had told them that she had been extra good for him so she could see them on their special day. The man led them down the hall way of the large house they lived in and unlocked a large white door.   
  
Their mother stood on the other side next to a large four poster bed. They had wanted to run to her. But the chains between their feet prevented all but the shortest of steps and she had very little lead on the heavy one connected to the wall. So they'd had to cross most of the room in short hops.   
  
She'd hugged them and whispered how happy she was to see them and how much she loved them. Then she'd picked up the bear from the bed and given it to Kaida. Though that wasn't what she'd called his sister. They spent several hours with her reading to them, coloring with them, and whispering stories of their father to them. Late in the evening Master Aloysius had come and led them back to their own rooms.   
  
They never saw their mother after that day. The next morning they had met Vurste who had taken them for what the two children had originally thought was a long drive to a new house. Master Aloysius had told them it was time for them to start training.   
  
He and Kaida had thought the man meant they'd be going to school and eager to do so they had willingly climbed into the back of the large escalade where they were given open juice boxes. When they woke they were already inside the lab they would live in for the next two years.   
  
The abuse hadn't started immediately. The first several months were actually free from fear and pain, though neither liked the doctors or nurses or white coated lab assistants that provided their meals and gave them their morning shots.   
  
Every week Vurste and Master Aloysius would visit and ask them strange questions and have them stare at strange patterns they'd put up on the halo vids and light candles with their minds. Each week master Aloysius would leave angrier and angrier until one week when they again failed at whatever it was the man wanted from them he'd snapped and slapped Akihito across his face.   
  
Kaida had watched it happen and when Aki slumped to the ground with a cry of pain she'd turned her flames on Aloysius. Only those flames were bright, white, and crackled like electricity. The man had smiled.   
  
The next day they had been taken to a room much like the one he was now chained. Only it was Kaida that they chained to the wall and forced to watch as several men beat Akihito. He'd screamed and screamed for them to stop but they didn't until his sister produced the bright white light again.   
  
The next day their roles were reversed. Aki remembers now that he'd tried and tried to produce the light they wanted yet only ever producing a small flame of fire.   
  
They tried other things to get him to mold the light around them and produce the destructive power his sister wielded. It went on for weeks. He was beaten, starved, and fed painful drugs and each time his sister, Kaida would break down and wield her powers to protect him. Yet never was Akihito able to do the same for her.   
  
The best he ever managed was once producing a blinding white light that knocked everyone in the room with them unconscious including himself and Kaida. When they woke both had been healed of their wounds and Master Aloysius leaned over their bed with a smile and said, "Now you are ready to serve."   
  
It was after that event Vurste started raping him. Each time happened just before they'd take his sister from him. She'd often be gone for days and when returned they would chain her to the bedroom floor and force her to watch as Vurste would beat and rape him or Vurste would take him to the room with the couches where Aloysius would allow his men to abuse him while forcing Kaida to sit on his lap. Each and every event was backed by Aloysius telling them both that this wouldn't be required if Kaida just did as she was told.   
  
The girl in the room was brought closer to him and her hand rose of its own accord to stroke his cheek. She whispered as she stroked it, "bruder?"   
  
Akihito tried to shake his head no but the pull on the collar prevented the movement. He wanted to scream when Vurste chuckled, "Yes, he's your brother little one. He's so very sad you won't use your powers like Master Aloysius wants you to."   
  
Vurste stroked the girl's face, "but he doesn't want you punished for disobeying so he's volunteered to be punished for you." An orderly gripped the girl's arm and dragged her back to the wall where two other held her in place.   
  
Then the orderly pulled a long bull whip from a hook on the wall giving it a few experimental flicks before using it to strike Akihito. Pain bloomed across Akihito's chest and he'd have screamed had the mesh in his throat allowed any sound past his lips.   
  
He wasn't certain how long they spent whipping him; the pain prevented him from gathering the light to his hands. He knew he could wield it; he had done so effortlessly at the first Council meeting. Now however he was having difficulty and it angered him. His thoughts were scattered flitting between memories and the desire to pull his power out and burn the men in the room. He felt Asami trying to calm him and for a few brief seconds the man's mental presence did so. They were close he said, they were coming for him please just hold on.   
  
The whip stopped and Akihito heard Vurste say, "You still refuse to obey, little one? Well then we'll just have to punish you as well."   
  
The men shoved the girl to the wall again and started wrapping the chains back about her arms. The man with the whip moved to stand near her raising the offensive device to deliver the first sting as the two other moved away. The man struck the girl too hard with the large whip creating a bright bloody cut across her back. The girl screamed then suddenly she was choking.   
  
The two orderlies ran to her side and pulled her down from the chains while Vurste screamed at eh man with the whip. They started chest compression but realized quickly that the issue was the stroke of the heavy implement had broken a rib and driven a piece into the girl's lung. The chest compressions were just forcing it deeper.   
  
Vurste had them stop saying the girl was useless now and they might as well let her die.   
  
Every coherent thought left Akihito's head as he saw white. Suddenly the room was full of screams as white flames engulfed the man with the whip. Akihito heard the door to the room being slammed open and feet run away as the white fire chased Vurste and the others.   
  
When he could no longer hear feet or voices the light changed and slowly became a steady stream entering the dying girl. He closed his eyes as he fed her his life energy and reached out to his lifemate, "I'm sorry."   
  
"Akihito, no!" Asami's voice rang in the lead air hopper. A hand squeezed his and he opened his eyes to see Kaida holding his left in both of hers'.   
  
She frowned, "What is he doing? Is he trying to escape on his own?"   
  
Asami shook his head and looked to the front of the cab before barking, "Kasumi, make this thing go faster."   
  
The hopper's engines whined as the man nodded, "I'll try but we're pushing the limit of the thing already, Asami-sama."   
  
"We have to hurry, Aki's scattering." The pain in Asami's voice was heard by everyone hooked to the hopper's com system.   
  
"Are we close enough for you to help him?" Kei's voice was almost a whisper and Kaida's breath hitched as Asami shook his head.   
  
"I'm trying but we're still too far out. How much longer?"   
  
It was Suoh that answered, "Maybe four minutes to reach the castle. But we'll still have to find the entrance to the lab once there."   
  
Asami looked at his Earth, "Can you do it, Kei?"   
  
The man nodded, "Yes, once we reach the building I'll be able to find it. Though, it may take several minutes."   
  
Asami leaned back and reached for his lifemate again. "That will have to work." He closed his eyes and the others knew he was trying to help Akihito center himself and hold together until they arrived.   
  
The hoppers landed as a group and nearly seventy men and women exited the small crafts with weapons drawn. The German defense force had joined Asami's men only a couple of days after they arrived. Lord Elbel had conscripted them once Asami had presented him with evidence of Aloysius' child experiments. That hadn't helped them find Akihito though.   
  
It had taken an additional week and they only came to this point because Aki himself had finally reached him through their lifemate bond. Now Asami, his people, Fei Long and his people, Mikhail and his people, as well as Elbel and his people were running across thick summer grass towards an old castle.   
  
The guards of the historical site dropped their weapons as soon as they saw the larger party. Asami and his group ignored the German troops taking them in custody for questioning. The entered the stone building only to be forced to pause when Kaida stumbled.   
  
Asami glanced back at her coming to a halt when he realized she knelt on the stones with her hands and arms about her head. She was chanting in German, "Stop hurting him!"   
  
It took several minutes before Kei was able to pull her back from where ever the memory had taken her. When she raised her head though she looked at her life mate, "I know where Aki is."   
  
"Are you certain?" Kirishima frowned at her.   
  
"Yes, this is where we escaped from. I remember now. I remember burning the lab walls when Vurste refused to stop hurting him." She rose to her feet and gathered a large white ball of lightning.   
  
She stared at it for several seconds before looking at Asami, "I killed them or at least I tried." She covered her stomach then, "Aloysius shot me. He filled my chest and stomach with metal bullets from the old Heckler  & Koch he always carried."   
  
She moved then grabbing Asami's arm as she passed him and talked, "I remember a bright white light after that then snow." She led them through the back of the building past the staged rooms and into the modern looking office.   
  
She paused and looked at Asami then, "I remember Aki telling me that it would be ok, he wouldn't let anyone know what I'd done." She turned and shot the lightening at the wall behind the office desk. The wall exploded inwards revealing a small room with a spiral staircase leading down.   
  
They heard screams as they descended and found chaos at the bottom. There were several bodies lying dead about the hallways. Which were lined with the glass walled rooms Aki's memories had shown Asami. They were in the right place.   
  
Troops peeled off from their group at each room in groups of four members each. All of Asami's, Fei Long's, and Mikhail's people having been trained in squads of three armed members and a single combat medic. The children in the rooms would get emergency care before being sent to Silberdrache controlled hospitals.   
  
Asami could tell by the thoughts running through his two Wind's minds that some of the children may never recover. Ignoring the bile trying to rise in his and his people's stomachs the groups move on. They came across the first barrier when they encountered a group of men in white lab coats. The were firing old weapons at their group and preventing them from crossing the hallway Kaida said they needed to in order to reach her brother.   
  
Kei and Kazumi solved the issue by combining their powers to break a water pipe and diverting the flood to knock the group off their feet. Mikhail and his people took over the firefight at that point pinning the group down and allowing Asami and Fei Long to continue on. They reached a lower floor where they encountered a group wearing the dragon's head symbol of Aloysius' house.   
  
This group had mages supporting them and kept their groups from continuing. Asami was ready to scream and pull his own mages' powers to himself to solve the problem when Fei Long and his lifemate stood and walked directly into the path of the oncoming bullets.   
  
Yoh raised his hands and spread them. The drywall on either side of the hall way wrenched from their studs and piled in a thick stack between Fei long and the one coming fire. Fei Long flicked his wrist and between one blink and the next his form switched from a tall elegant Chinese male to a long black and silver Chinese dragon.   
  
He flew down the hallway carrying the piled wall sections before him like a shield. The group was overwhelmed and many were crushed beneath the heavy dry wall. Once again Asami ignored the aftermath of the solution and led his now much smaller group down the stairs to the next level.   
  
The walls were different here and Asami recognized them as possibly belonging to the original structure. Long walls of stone moist to the touch led them to a large round room. Inside several people in Green scrubs and Vurste had built a barricade. However, it wasn't facing Asami and his people, but instead a burned out doorway in the far wall.   
  
Bright white fire blocked the opening and would send out tendrils of flame towards each person that approached it. Vurste was screaming at one of his men. "Get it put out!!!!"   
  
Asami didn't hesitate, neither did his mages. He raised his own weapon and shot the orderly closest to him. Suoh, Kirishima, Takato, and Kou shot the others. Vurste, whom Asami had intended to torture later, was surrounded by white lighting. He screamed as he turned as saw Kaida standing before him.   
  
At first Asami thought to stop her. He reached out to pull her power into his control when he caught the look on Kei's face. The man was fighting to not pull Kaida from the man. Kaida walked closer to the fire mage struggling in her lighting.   
  
She tilted her head to the side as the man shrunk from her babbling. She was just about to finish he man when one sentence held her hand.   
  
"Please, I can tell you where your parents are. Please don't kill me."   
  
She turned then and threw herself into Kei's arms, "I can't not if their alive."   
  
Kei wrapped her in his arms and raised his hand rock and dirt rose from the floor wrapping the man in their embrace and holding him in place with only his head free.   
  
Asami nodded and approached the doorway. The fire lashed at him. Had it been formed by another's power it might have hurt him. This fire though slid off his arms like water and though no one else was able to follow he stepped through the doorway unharmed.   
  
The room was made of stone as well. In its center Akihito knelt chained to the floor his life energy slowly streaming to the body of small redhead near the far wall. Asami grasped the boy's arms and kissed his lips.   
  
The boy's mind was in a slightly alternate version of the room. In it he held the girl in his arms as he cried over her and fed her life force so she wouldn't die. He looked up at Asami, "I can't save her can I?"   
  
Asami pulled both of them into his arms, "We can but you have to lower the barrier so that Riki-hakse and Mia-hakes can get inside."   
  
The barrier of fire went out and Asami watched as his two Winds rushed into the room. Mia glanced at the girl and immediately started stabilizing her. Breathing for the girl when she realized that at least one lung was punctured. Suoh knelt next to the woman and helped to wrap the girl's wounds and prepare her for removal from the room and the flight to the nearest hospital.   
  
Riki knelt next to Asami and Akihito, "I need these chains off."   
  
Kei helped with that, turning the metal into piles of small round balls he then directed to pile away from the group. Asami took in his lifemate's state. He was worse than he'd been found at the old Tokyo docks. His skin was pallid, grey, and had started hanging from unused muscles. He was clearly dehydrated and if the hollow of his abdominals was any indication his boy was starving.   
  
Asami helped Riki to stretch Akihito out while in the shared mind space he cradled his boy. The Akihito in the room was quiet and withdrawn making zero noise even as they tugged on clearly bruised limbs and battered joints. Riki commented that the boy had to hurt and he was prepping a syringe when Akihito started begging Asami to not let eh doctor give him anything through the tears he cried in their minds.   
  
Asami didn't know what to do but he could feel the pain his lifemate was in and couldn't stand it another minute, "I'm going to have him put you under Akihito. The ride to the emergency room will be unbearable if I don't."   
  
"Please, no." Akihito panted and clawed at Asami, "I don't want to be asleep. What if I wake up and you were just a dream? Please."   
  
"I won't leave here. I'll be right next to you the whole time. Trust me."   
  
Akihito nodded and cuddled up to Asami's chest, "Take me home, please." 


	14. Vengeance is Best Served Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter so many of you have asked for _sort of_.
> 
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.   
> \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asami and Kaida sat silently through the detailed explanation of Akihito's condition from Riki and Mia, both doctors had examined him and collated their notes and observations before ordering a battery of tests blood and otherwise. Now it was two days after Akihito had been rescued and Asami's two Airs looked like they'd seen ghosts.   
  
Akihito was starved. According to the physicians it was to the point his body had started cannibalizing itself. How long he'd been in Catabolysis, with his body breaking down its own muscles and other tissues in order to keep his nervous system and heart functioning was unclear. He also suffered from starvation sickness with swollen extremities and impaired vision and hearing.   
  
The forced feedings and dumps of his digestive system had damaged his GI tract and removed all the healthy bacteria needed to properly digest food. The drug cocktails he'd been given had damaged his kidneys and liver. The beatings and rape had left scarred tissues across his body.   
  
Prognosis was grim. It would take months for the boy to recover physically and even then he'd suffer from a compromised immune system and weakened organs for the rest of his life.   
  
Riki-hakase remained silent while Mia walked the two through what Akihito faced now.   
  
"Starving patients can be treated, but it must be done cautiously to avoid re-feeding syndrome. " Mia said, "Rest and warmth must be provided and maintained. We'll be providing him with small sips of glucose water at regular intervals. If his stomach proves he can handle that then we'll add fruit juices."   
  
She paused to check for questions continuing only once Asami indicated they had none, "Once his body starts digesting that, we'll add soft foods gradually in small quantities. The quantity and texture of the food will be increased over time." She glanced down at her notes. "We're providing him with proteins supplements intravenously to raise his serum proteins along with healthy doses of vitamin and minerals."   
  
She looked up again and captured Asami's gaze, "He will be practically immobile for the first four to six weeks, Asami-sama. He will need a physical therapist to come and help him move his limbs and other muscles everyday so they don't atrophy and he can gain strength slowly."   
  
"Recommend someone and I will ensure they have an apartment in the Sion building." Asami replied.   
  
Mia nodded, "The cuts and bruises will heal over time and most will not even scar, at least visibly." She sighed then.   
  
"It is the other type of scarring you are worried about." Asami said.   
  
"Yes, we already have to remove anything white or green in our clothing. He panics whenever one of us forgets. It is why we've kept him mostly sedated these past two days, but if we're going to get him back on his feet he needs to be awake." She swiped to a new page of notes on her tablet. "I will understand if you don't' want his help but Sachiel Owain is the best psychiatrist I've ever worked with and he's of the People."   
  
"Why would I not want his help?" Asami frowned.   
  
Riki spoke up then, "He was once bound to Verräter Aloysius when they were both still sons of the Silber family."   
  
Asami's eyes darkened and his voice lowered, "He is Aloysius' brother? Why is he not in custody?"   
  
"Because I broke from our bond when he was picked to take over the Verräter family," a tall golden blonde man with a full beard and mustache said. He was standing in the open fire doors between the cardio vascular surgical ward and the ICU ward where Akihito was currently resting. "I also have already answered all of both Lord Silberdrache's and your secretary's questions regarding my brother. I want him found and punished as much as you do."   
  
The man took a step towards them; Asami asked, "Do you smoke?"   
  
Sachiel shook his head, "No, that habit will give you cancer, don't you know?"   
  
Asami almost smiled. Sachiel Owain smelled like a freshly lit Dunhill. He reached out with his right hand, "Who is your current Jō?"   
  
The man shook hands, "Don't have one currently; but most recently I was bonded with Zoya of the Jini. Her brother suffers from PTSD after a mining craft crash in the asteroid belt. I was bonded with her for nearly three years while I treated him."   
  
"PTSD?" Kaida asked.   
  
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." He leaned one shoulder on the door frame, "It develops in people who go through what your brother has. I've already seen the others from the facility. I'll be treating two of the girls at the request of a Kirishima. He said you would be fine with that as long as I was willing to come to Japan to treat them."   
  
Asami nodded, "I believe I know the two you speak of." He looked into the man's eyes; they were dark grey with moss green bursts about their irises. "I will expect you to bond with me. I won't trust anyone else near my lifemate."   
  
"I will expect to be released once I deem my job with your lifemate is completed."   
  
Asami nodded, "If that is what your wish." He held out his hands palms down. The golden haired man placed his hands around Asami's biceps his wrists resting against Asami's wrists.   
  
Asami chanted the ancient spell and for a few brief moments both their eyes glowed gold. The man went to step back; Asami gripped his arms halting him, "I hope you forgive me if I attempt to change your mind."   
  
Sachiel just smiled before saying, "We'll see." He turned then to Kaida, "I understand from Mai and your lifemate that you've started to remember things you previously couldn't."   
  
Kaida frowned and shook her head, "It doesn't matter. Aki comes first." She shifted so that Asami was between her and the tall blond man.   
  
Sachiel nodded and gave her a small smile, "And what if his recovery was tied to you?"   
  
Kaida closed her eyes, "They're just nightmares and I only experiencing them when I tried to sleep."   
  
He turned to Asami again. "I understand from Kirishima that Akihito hasn't spoken since he was rescued. That there is something that prevents him from vocalizing?"   
  
It was Mia that answered, "Over the past two days he's experienced bouts of confusion and often panics when the nurses and doctors attempted to treat him. It is not uncommon for him to burst into tears or silent screams." She sighed again, "There is some sort of mesh wrapped over his vocal cords. I have not yet figured out how to remove it."   
  
Sachiel closed his eyes and shook his head, "They are part of a voice inhibitor that Aloysius had Doppelhelix create. I don't know how to remove them but the records on the computer at the facilities you raided should tell you."   
  
Mia nodded and looked at Asami, "Riki and I will need time to find anything. Kirishima-san pulled a lot of records from those computers."   
  
Asami nodded, "Look into it. Kei will be reaching out to get information on how to fly Akihito and the two girls back to Tokyo from you."   
  
Mia paused as he said that then nodded, "Understood, we'll have Akihito-sama ready to travel as soon as possible."   
  
Asami watched his trauma surgeon walk down the hallway back towards his lifemates room. He turned when his new Wind chuckled.   
  
The man answered his questioning look, "Mia doesn't think it is a good idea to move him."   
  
"And you?"   
  
The man shrugged, "I think if he wakes up here and not in his own room surrounded by familiar things he'll continue to have those panic attacks. What he needs most right now is to feel safe." He glanced at Kaida, "It's what they both need."   
  
Asami nodded, "I agree, he keeps asking me to take him home. I plan on fulfilling that wish."   
  
Sachiel nodded, "Good, he needs to fill in control as well." He turned to leave, "I will check with your Kirishima to see where I should stash my stuff before the trip. Then you and I will have to discuss when the best time is for me to evaluate your needs."   
  
Asami frowned, "I don't need your services."   
  
The man turned around and pinned Asami with a smirk, "Oh, I guess Mia and I forgot to tell you. You don't get a choice; if you really want Akihito to recover you'll play a big role. You and all of you Mages are in my care. Like Mia, I will decide what is needed. That includes evaluating what if any treatment you need."   
  
His smirk softened, "Taking care of someone in Akihito condition is emotionally and mentally draining. It will be months before he's able to physically function on his own and progress won't be steady. You, your other mages, even the nurse you intend to house for his care will be emotionally and mentally strained the entire time. I have an obligation to take care of all of you."   
  
Asami nodded, "Mia wants Akihito to have a six hour sleep and awake cycle. I will be by his side when he is awake but there are a few hours each day he where he'll rest without nightmares, we can speak then."   
  
Sachiel nodded and then looked at Kaida, "Your lifemate has asked that he and you speak with me initially together. If you don't want that then just say so."   
  
Kaida frowned, "He made plans without me?"   
  
"No he made a suggestion. He said he would discuss with you. I am just imparting your choices."   
  
She nodded, "I'll think about it." She looked in his eyes, "It will help Aki, right?"   
  
Sachiel nodded, "It will help everyone." He left then quietly as he arrived.   
  
Kaida looked at Asami, "I like him."   
  
Asami watched the man walk away and took note of the fact that the smell of Dunhills had gone with him. "I like him too." He glanced at Kaida, "I agree with him about you talking to someone. Kei is worried about you."   
  
"The baby is just fine."   
  
Asami shook his head, "I didn't mention the baby. It is you we're worried about." He took Kaida's hands in his. "Kei loves you and you are my responsibility. Kei said you woke last night screaming your brother's name and leaking light."   
  
Kaida tugged on her hands but just looked at the floor when Asami didn't let her go, "I……" She trailed off and then took a deep breath, "I keep dreaming about the day we escaped from Vurste when we were younger."   
  
Asami frowned at the waves of guilt coming off her. He almost shook his head in disbelief. Like his kitten, the girl in front of was ashamed of having defended herself and her brother. She felt guilt for the lives she had been forced to take in order to escape the brutality forced on them. He mentally took a deep breath before asking, "Do you know why I branded Akihito before sending the two of you with Fei Long?"   
  
Kaida looked up in confusion, "Kei said it was to ensure any Jō that got him alone would know he was your lifemate. That it was something that he and I would get around to eventually."   
  
Asami smiled, "I will admit the act does have that effect, but I would have waited to mark Akihito the way Kei is waiting for you. Usually lifemates are together for years before they reach that step and it is usually done when both are in the middle of sex."   
  
"Then why?" Kaida questioned.   
  
"He felt he needed to be punished." He made sure she was looking at him as he continued, "Your brother believed he had committed a grave sin and had killed the men and women keeping the two of you trapped in that facility years ago."   
  
Asami grimaced then, "He felt that no harm visited upon you or his self by them justified their deaths."   
  
"People died." Kaida struggled to pull her hands free Asami tightened his grasp.   
  
"Kei and I would disagree. In fact so would the entire Council and most Family leaders. Children are precious to the People. We can't have many and of the ones we can have less than an eighth of them can eventually become mages or Jō. We haven't had a natural born Sanrantaru in nearly a thousand years and what you and Akihito were forced to live in those years is why we ban the creation of any through artificial means."   
  
He smiled sadly down at Kaida then. "So when one of the rarest people on the planet and my lifemate insisted he needed to be punished I did the only thing I felt appropriate. I made him agree that it was my responsibility to punish him and that he would stop seeking it out after I said the punishment was over."   
  
"Then I branded him. I marked him so that anyone that saw his brand would know that harming him would bring about my wrath and so that he would remember that he'd been punished for any wrongs he felt he'd done and that he'd promised that only I could decide if he warranted anymore."   
  
Asami squeezed Kaida's hands again, "I believe that Akihito has been punished enough for both of you. It will only hurt him if you punish yourself for your past. He's already done that to himself enough; hasn't he?"   
  
Kaida tugged on her hands and wiped at the tears on her face when Asami released them before nodding. "Yes, yes he has." She looked at her Jō and smiled, "Perhaps I should talk to Sachiel."   
  
"That remains up to you. Just know that Kei and I only care about your welfare and want what's best for you."   
  
She nodded and looked around the room in an attempt to avoid Asami's eyes in her embarrassment. They paused on the wall clock and she gasped. "You'd better hurry, Aki's medication is supposed to wear off shortly. Mia- hakase planned on waking him today."   
  
Asami nodded, "Do you want to come with me?"   
  
Kaida shook her head, "No, it will stress him if he even thinks I've been crying. I'll swing by in a couple of hours." She pressed her hand on her stomach, "Besides, I really need to eat something. It keeps the nausea down."   
  
They stood with Asami's smile and separated. Kaida followed the hallway Sachiel took and Asami followed after Mia and Riki.   
  
The walk was short though the location he reached seemed like it was on a different planet. The room was about fifteen by twenty feet. The room size was a luxury in most human built hospitals but the norm for the ones owned by the People. Space had to be provided for any lifemate a patient may have as prolonged separation would impede and sometimes even prevent recovery.   
  
So, ICU units designed and build by the People always had rooms large enough for lifemates to remain with each other during recovery. Comfortable couches that folded out to become beds, large overstuffed reading chairs with foot stools and tables for work or crafts while the couple was confined to the hospital's care were only part of the semi-private glass fronted rooms.   
  
Each room also had a personal shower and toilet as well as a small closet for personal items to make any prolonged stay easier. It was from the bathroom Riki was walking while drying his freshly washed hands. Mia was leaned over Akihito's sleeping form checking the IV port. They had not removed the one Mathis' scientists had placed in the boy worried that Akihito didn't have enough blood pressure to adequately set a different one. Several bags of drugs hung from three nearby poles each with a line feeding through small machines to monitor the rate and amount the liquids were fed into Akihito's small body.   
  
Small he was to Asami's eyes. His bones and joints were obvious even through the double layer of warm blankets. It was all Asami could do to repress the fury he felt every time he really looked at his lifemate's condition. He wouldn't normally do so, but Akihito never really disconnected from him any longer and his anger disturbed the boy, distressing him even in his induced sleep.   
  
He walked up to the bedside and took hold of Akihito's left hand. It was cold to Asami's touch and he carefully covered it with both his warm ones. Mia looked up and said, "we slowly reduced the sedatives to nothing over the past eight hours. He should wake up naturally soon." She stepped back and Asami leaned closer.   
  
Akihito was curled up in what he was certain had to be part of Asami's mind. It was the only way to explain how Asami's bedroom surrounded him at all times. Sometimes Asami would join him, lying next to his cold body and curling around it. It made Akihito feel safe. He didn't want to leave the room, but he'd been feeling lonely the last few hours, or was it days and strange noises had sounded outside the hallway door. He kept hearing his name called.   
  
There was a moment when everything went dark. Then he opened his eyes and found Asami leaning over him. The man smiled at him and Aki glanced about the room. It was white walled and smelled strongly of antiseptic. He glanced back at Asami and pressed his thoughts at his lifemate. _This isn't home._   
  
"No, it's an ICU unit near Sion's German office." He sat on the bed next to Akihito, "Riki and Mia felt they should ensure you were stable before putting you on a seven hour flight."   
  
Aki nodded slightly. _How much longer before we go home?_   
  
"Kei is trying to arrange for us to leave tomorrow. There are some things we need set up in the penthouse so you can be taken care of properly."   
  
_I don't want anything special. I just want to go home._ Aki tried to sit up and found he had no muscle control; hot tears pooled in his eyes. The blankets keeping him warm suddenly felt as constricting as the chains Mathias had kept him in.   
  
Asami's arms went around him and Aki felt himself pulled onto the man's lap. He'd never been able to escape Asami. It didn't help he didn't want to. His thoughts warred with his body and each other. Part of him wanted to curl up in Asami's arms. Another part was screaming silently and flinched each time his lifemate rubbed his back.   
  
Overriding it all was shame. He felt so dirty and used. How could Asami still want him anywhere close after the past weeks?   
  
"Of course I still want you?" Asami cradled Akihito, "I will always want you. In my life; in my penthouse; in my heart." He pulled Akihito's face up so that they looked in each other's eyes. "You are my lifemate Akihito. I will always want you."   
  
_Even after being used by so many? After possibly impregnating two children?_   
  
"Do you mean the rapes? Do you really think I believe you participated in what Vurste Mathias did to those girls?" Asami frowned. "Did you want those things to happen?"   
  
Akihito searched Asami's eyes then lowered his. _I should have stopped him._   
  
Asami kissed the top of Akihito's head, "I don't see how you could have." He shifted his boy in his arms and while still being careful of the IVs feeding nutrients to his lifemate carried Akihito to the oversized stuffed chair next to the IV poles. He settled them both into the chair and pulled several blankets over Akihito.   
  
Once settled he started talking. At first it was just general information. Akihito wasn't to worry about the University Exams. Asami had already notified the testing board that the boy was ill and they had agreed to a mid-year test and placement for him.   
  
Kei, in his efficiency had already arranged for someone to take care of the penthouse. Kaida had moved in with Kei and the two of them had news they wanted to give him, but they were waiting until everyone was home again.   
  
After that he almost rambled. Interspersing information about Tao choosing to take up glass blowing again and Fei Long taking Akihito's advice and not hiring the best artist he could find but instead getting the boy time each week with a university professor with small news stories about Tokyo.   
  
Aki wasn't certain how long Asami talked. In truth he was only peripherally aware of what the man actually said. Instead Aki took comfort in Asami not pushing him. When he'd asked Asami to take him home he'd assumed the first thing the man would do was demand information from him. Aki had hid in his lifemates mind in an effort to avoid the questions he was certain the man would ask.   
  
Yet instead Asami just assured him that he was not at fault for the things that had happened. Wrapped him in the man's arms and held him close. It was balm to his wildly running thoughts and feelings and all Akihito wanted to do was curl into his lifemate's warmth and breathe his lifemate's unique scent into his lungs. However, Akihito had one question not yet asked that he knew had to be answered.   
  
It was the one question he found he didn't want to answer. It would hurt Asami. Akihito wasn't even certain how he knew it would hurt the man or how he knew what the man's reaction would be. Somehow Akihito knew that this betrayal was worse than any reneging of business agreements or attempts to steal territory by rivals. This was personal and had harmed the people Asami had sworn to protect. That, in his lifemate's mind, was the deepest form of treachery.   
  
Still, the man needed to know before anything else happened, especially, when one considered that the culprit was running at least two of his lifemates better known businesses. _Asami?_   
  
The ramblings stop when Akihito called his name and Asami looked down at the too thin face staring up at him. He raised a hand and cupped Akihito's cheek before saying, "Yes, Kitten?"   
  
_It was Takeo who drugged me that first night._ Asami's arms tightened around him and the man started to speak but Aki rushed on, _and that manager from Dracean. He's the one that gave Sakazaki and Takeo the drugs they used on me._   
  
Asami's face clouded with anger. It was a look Akihito had never seen on his face before. It reminded him that Asami wasn't just the successful night club slash honest business owner the rest of Japan saw. The man was a powerful underworld figure and it was never a good idea to be on his bad side.   
  
Asami calmed his raging thoughts as soon as he realized his lifemate was shivering. The boy looked terrified and Asami shoved his own anger aside to reassure him. He gathered his lifemate close and whispered into his hair that he wasn't mad at Akihito. The boy had done nothing wrong.   
  
It wasn't until several minutes later after Akihito had calmed and snuggled back under Asami's chin that his kitten asked the question Asami hoped he wouldn't.   
  
_Asami, what are you going to do to them?_   
  
_*********  
The following section contains the torture of people.   
It lasts until the end of the Chapter.   
Skip if you wish to do so.   
You have been warned.   
*********_   
  
It had been impossible to find still functioning refrigerated warehouses near Tokyo's old shipping port. Kei and Suoh had to get creative in order to fulfill their Jō's request. Still when they sent feelers out to their underground partners there had been a flurry of responses.   
  
It may have only been four weeks but the Yakuza and other groups had been under intense scrutiny by Asami's people since Akihito's kidnapping. Spies and operatives in Asami's and his partner's businesses had been snatched up and disposed of. Leaders of the smaller groups had been questioned and threatened with loss of life if it were found they had any part in his lifemate going missing.   
  
Small time dealers of drugs and guns and even just banned foreign goods were captured and locked away. Not even government officials had escaped the man's wrath. Kyoto prefecture being cleaned out by the bureau of special investigations with numerous officials charged with embezzling funds and endangering minors.   
  
The raids and cleanups had happened without warning and by the time Asami was through Tokyo safer than had ever been in the last hundred years. Groups not caught up in the mess stayed low and out of trouble most ceasing all activities lest they bring unwanted attention from the obviously angry fixer. Smart groups stayed low and quiet when Sion was on the warpath.   
  
So when Suoh asked around if there were any warehouses that still used refrigeration it was no surprise when a small group of thugs offered to load them the portable units the group used to move contraband sea food through the old ports Suoh in return promised to look the other way when the group brought through a small batch of whale meat in the winter months.   
  
Now Kei and Suoh had a small warehouse outfitted with the units and insulated so that those inside wouldn't miss any of the cool air the units provided.   
  
It had taken the two of them most of the two weeks Asami had spent at the penthouse coddling his lifemate. Akihito's recovery was so far smooth and unlike the meal plan Riki had had him and his sister on when they were first found the boy stuck to the one he was on now almost perfectly.   
  
He really didn't like the protein shakes and Asami found he had to watch Akihito like a hawk if he wanted the boy to actually drink them instead of finding clever ways to dispose of them.   
  
Tonight however Asami left his Kitten's side to deal with the first set of individuals responsible for Akihito's condition. He walked through the double doors of the same warehouse he'd found his kitten in four months prior. The roof had been patched along with the walls and most of the floor. It had been an old fish processing location. So there were already water pipes running into and drains running out of the building.   
  
The place was cold for the early September evening and Asami was glad Kei had thought to bring jackets for them. He'd forgone his normal three piece suit. Usually he wore one to interrogations having long past the need to participate personally in extracting information from his enemies. This time however it was personal. The men hanging unconscious before him had touched his lifemate. They had either placed their own hands on Akihito's body or aided those that had.   
  
Tonight was less about information, which he would receive as well, than it was about punishment. These men would know and the stories told afterward would warn others just what happened to those that harmed people who belonged to Asami Ryuichi.   
  
He'd allowed Kei and Suoh to prep them for Asami's attention. All were necked, all were bruised, and all were growing gaunt from lack of food. All were hooked to IVs ensuring they were provided just enough so that they wouldn't die. The one on the end well Mathis could no longer call out his powers.   
  
So it was that Asami sat at the small table in one of two thickly padded office chairs provided to him by Kei. On the table was a pack of his favorite Dunhills and old fashion butane lighter, five cut crystal tumblers and two bottles each of Obstler and Dujardin Brandy. The brandy was provided by Elbel and the Obstler by Asami's new Wind.   
  
He nodded at Kei and Suoh. Kei moved to his left and stood just behind the table pouring a finger of brandy for Asami before settling into a relaxed military rest. Suoh spread the groups of Sion Guards around the perimeter of the building. So that they provided protection for his Jō as well as vantage points for each group to witness what was to come.   
  
He then joined Toshiro from Akihito's guards and Ohta from Kaida's guards along with three new men Suoh and Toshiro had picked to join Akihito's regular group. Kano had stayed behind to watch over Akihito under the pretense of seeking the photographer's advice on what camera an amateur should purchase first. Asami had not yet determined how he was going to get Akihito to accept his security detail would be increased. Regardless of Akihito's powers Asami was determined the boy would never be trapped alone with anyone besides himself, even someone he should be able to trust, again.   
  
The guards standing next to each hanging body held syringes waiting on the order to wake the six hanging men. Now they waited on the other member of the party to join them. The door slid open. Asami turned and watch with some surprise the person he'd been waiting on plus one other.   
  
Silber Elbel entered the building followed by four of his Mages, two Earths and two Fires and all dragons. The extra mages didn't surprise Asami though. He'd expected it in truth. Elbel had barely suppressed rage at falling for the manipulations of Aloysius. He was livid that he'd allowed his personal feelings over the loss of his daughter blind him to what was going on under his own rule.   
  
No, it wasn't Elbel that surprised Asami; it was the blond Wind dragon that walked next to him that was shocking. Still Asami watched silently as his longtime friend from Eastern Europe and his new Wind and Akihito's psychiatrist crossed the short distance between the double doors and the table.   
  
Elbel nodded at Asami and sat in the other thickly padded office chair. Sachiel stopped behind the older dragon and sat a bright green messenger bag on the table top saying, "I'd set it on the floor but I don't want it getting dirty."   
  
Asami recognized it as the bag the man brought to all of his and Akihito's sessions. There were several small creatures embroidered into the bag's cover. Asami remembers his Kitten telling him the names of them, but all Asami could remember was that the one with a flower on its back was Bulbasuar and the one with a leaf on its head was called Chikorita. He nodded but still asked, "I am surprised to see you here, Sachiel; doesn't your Hippocratic Oath prevent you from participating in this sort of thing?"   
  
The man just smiled and poured Ebel and brandy before pouring a double finger of Obstler for himself. He sipped the drink and smiled before answering, "I'm not breaking my oath since I will only be an observer," he gestured to the men hanging in front of them, "besides you will only be handing out the punishment approved by the Council for similar crimes. I did a lot of research on you before I agreed to counsel Akihito. You don't torture for fun."   
  
His eyes glittered in the artificial illumination of the building. He patted the bag, "Besides, I brought some things that might help us get to the information you and Elbel need faster."   
  
Asami glared hard at his Wind, the man was irreverent and took almost as much delight as his lifemate did in ignoring the normal strictures the People had between Mage and Jō. If it wasn't so good for his Kitten to spend time with the man and if the man didn't smell so strongly of Dunhills, Asami would be tempted to release him. As it was, he found himself chuckling when Sachiel's only response to his ire was a smirk and a single raised eyebrow.   
  
Elbel chuckled, "I'm glad you find him funny. Maybe you can succeed in keeping him. All Mother help us when he's not bonded."   
  
Sachiel frowned then blushed, "We're not here to talk about me." He pointed to the hanging unconscious men, "we're here for them."   
  
Elbel and Asami both nodded. Asami gestured to Suoh, "He's right wake them up."   
  
Asami's six guards fed the contents of their syringes into the IV lines. The then set them on a steel table and each picked up a steel bat.   
  
Asami glanced at Sachiel, "I hope you don't mind if I have Suoh and my people soften them up first?" At the shake of Sachiel's head Suoh swung his bat.   
  
The men were not yet awake when the bat struck the man next to him. Sudo Shu woke with a scream. He glanced around and started begging as soon as his eyes saw Asami, "Asmai-sama, please what did I do? I will fix it, whatever it is!"   
  
Asami narrowed his eyes and looked at Suoh. The next hit broke Sudo's knee cap. The other hanging men fared no better. Bats slammed into them repeatedly and they hung close enough together that often the beatings would cause them to slam into each other. The swinging bats only lasted for about ten minutes and Asami and Elbel worked out a new trade deal between the screams.   
  
The hanging men had been reduced to whimpers before Asami signaled for a halt. There were numerous broken bones and bruised kidneys among them. Blood trickled from the legs and arms of Sakazaki's men where the worst of the broken bones were located.   
  
They were underlings and while they would suffer for their part in his Kitten's condition he had desire to drag their presence in the warehouse out. Suoh and his men ensured the first part wouldn't be the worst damage they would take. He had plans for them after all. Sudo, Sakazaki, and Maithis were pushed backwards on the rails their chains were tied to. Cold water was poured over their bodies to shock them into watching what happened next.   
  
Asami stood and Elbel's two fires joined him as they stood in front of the men. Asami looked them over before grabbing the broken arm of the one closest to him and shaking him as he asked. "Do you know the punishment for raping a child of the people?"   
  
The man in front of him screamed and started blubbering; Asami continued as if he was speaking to someone over a quiet drink. "The guilty party first losses their sexual organs. It's not an easy thing to do with females. Luckily none of you are of that gender." He took the hunting knife Suoh handed him, moved his hand to grasp the man's penis and sliced it off. He dropped it to the floor and grabbed the man's balls, "These too."   
  
The two fires with him performed the same to the other two hanging men. At this point the three men were blubbering and crying and begging. So too was Sakazaki; Sudo and Maithis just stared in horror. Asami glared at Sakazaki, "Shut him up."   
  
One of the Sion guards wrapped duct tape about Sakazaki's head not caring he was wrapping it about the man's hair and beard. The stuffed part of the tape between his lips and tightened the wrap until it was nearly cutting into his lips.   
  
Asami nodded in approval and turned back to the man in front of him. He was begging for Asami to just kill him which made Asami frown. "You know that the death penalty was rescinded by the United Nations over two hundred years ago. Killing you would be illegal, but don't worry you'll continue to be punished for touching a member of my Family."   
  
He stepped back, "The penal mining ships are always in need of new miners. Not that the three of you will be much good at mining anything. Still the ships will find something useful to do with you." He smiled again, "I know; why don't we give them a suggestion?" He reached out with his finger.   
  
He burned the word for slut in nearly twelve languages upon the man's chest. He and the other fires were careful to brand the words so that they wouldn't heal into unreadable gibberish. Yet each letter made the men scream and by the time they were done the men were too hoarse to scream when released from their chains.   
  
They landed on their broken limbs and were dragged off by Asami's men. They would be given minimal medical treatment before being placed in the isolation pods headed used to transport criminals to the ships in the asteroid belt. The ship they were being sent to belonged to Sion's fleet and Asami had already sent instructions for the men's berthing assignments. Rape would be the least of the horrors the three men suffered at the hands of the incarcerated members of the People. However they would 'live', for a fairly long time if Asami's instructions were followed.   
  
He returned to his seat as the men were taken away. Elbel's fires returned to their postings. Suoh pulled Sakazaki forward and moved him to the middle of the viewing area. He said nothing as he took the hunting knife Asami had used and removed Sakazaki's genitals. One of Akihito's new guards took them and sliced them into small pieces before placing them in a blender.   
  
Asami looked at Sachiel, "I figured you'd have left by now?"   
  
Sachiel glanced at Sakazaki and shrugged before pouring another finger of the fruity Obstler and sipped it before saying, "I've seen worse. The Jini like to flay the skin off and douse the genitals in lemon instead of just chopping them."   
  
Asami glanced back at Kei who was already on the phone. He looked back at Sachiel, "Thanks for the idea."   
  
The psychiatrist just shrugged again, "It's the Jini you should thank; it was their idea." He tilted his head and then said, "Speaking of the Jini, you should take Akihito to meet them when he's stronger. Their oases are pristine and he'd love the pictures he could get."   
  
"I'll think about it." Asami looked at Elbel. "I kind of think Elbel would like to spend time with him and Kaida first though."   
  
Sachiel looked at the dragon, "Hum, It will be years before Akihito should even try to return to Germany." He sighed when the man looked saddened and followed with, "I'm sorry, but it's never wise to thrust a person with PTSD back into the location the inciting event or events took place."   
  
Elbel just nodded, "I understand. I'll make time to come here to Japan to see them."   
  
Sachiel nodded, "Good."   
  
In the time it took them to converse about Akihito, Suoh had removed the tape around Sakazaki's head and shaved his body bare. He had not been overly careful and the hanging man's head, face, chest, and crotch were covered with tiny nicks and cuts. Asami stood again.   
  
It was only one man and Asami had special plans for him. Asami had over the past several nights sat with Akihito while his Kitten and Sachiel talked. So far they'd only discussed the period of time between the death of the Takabas and Asami finding them in the warehouse.   
  
Akihito tended to ramble during the sessions and though Asami wished he could just get the boy to tell them the story straight out he understood when Sachiel told him it would take the boy years before he could tell it all. Starting at the beginning wasn't even possible and trying to force him would probably cause more harm than good.   
  
Tonight Asami was actually a little grateful that his kitten had started closer to when he'd found them. It meant that he'd been able to capture and punish the men that had hurt him most recently. Among the events he'd related was where he'd been when the oranges had been brought into the warehouse. He'd been sold by a small time Yakuza that no longer lived, and bought by Sakazaki.   
  
Now Asami had dealt in a lot of illegal trades in his nine hundred years, drugs, weapons, ships and their parts, contraband alcohol and cigarettes, he'd even imported and exported banned animals and plants. He'd never, not once, directly dealt with human or People trafficking. He didn't believe his hands were pristine and he understood that with the drugs and weapons he'd dealt in he'd probably eventually aided in the taking of or at least keeping of slaves. Still when he came across practitioners of the vile practice he was the first to step forward to clean it up.   
  
The People had a practical solution to slavers. Death was a slow and torturous process and started by feeding the practitioner his or her own ground up sexual organs. Asami stood in front of the brothel owner, "You first mistake was trading in humans, Sakazaki. It was your last mistake to trade in a member of the People. The life you are about to live usually only lasts a few weeks; but I know people that can keep you alive for months."   
  
Asami slipped on some gloves and took the offered glass of raw ground meat and blood. "Now you can drink this the easy way or the hard way. It is up to you."   
  
Suoh pulled a leaver that released Sakazaki's chains. The man landed on his broken knee cap and screamed as he landed. Asami reached out with the glass and Sakazaki scrambled away from him as well as his broken knee caps and arms allowed. Asami sighed, "The hard way it is."   
  
He backed up as his men pulled Sakazaki to his knees. Two men held him while Suoh and another forced a large funnel into the man's mouth. It was held in place by stretchy black bands pulled around the man's head. The device forced his head back until he was looking at the ceiling.   
  
Asami smiled down at Sakazaki as he slowly poured the mix down into his throat. At first Sakazaki didn't swallow. Asami just poured enough that the man either swallowed or stopped breathing. Each time Sakazaki reached the point of chocking he's slow down and allow the man to swallow and clear his throat, after all the point of the exercise wasn't to kill him, yet.   
  
Once Sakazaki had swallowed the glass of his own body parts, three men in white lab coats came into the room and took Sakazaki away. There was a little island off the coast of Indonesia; the natives there were violent cannibals that ate their enemies. As a rule it was illegal for people to visit the island and whenever someone did the surrounding countries turned and shook their heads at the visitor's deaths. The tribe was actually a large gathering of the People that desired to be left alone by the rest of the world.   
  
They were convinced that by returning to the oldest ways they could reverse the damage the development and dropping of hydrogen bombs had done to the planet. As a rule the council let them be, but only in exchange for the service they were about to perform on Sakazaki. They would slowly feed the man his own body. While keeping him alive via the magic they wielded. Sakazaki would go insane long before he was allowed to die.   
  
Asami stripped off his gloves and dropped them into the steel drum Suoh had brought into the warehouse. He went back to the table and sat.   
  
Kei, Ebel and Sachiel had been debating the difference between slow penetrations of a single blade over rapid penetration of multiple blades as data points on discovering pain tolerance.   
  
Kei preferred slowly impaling the subject, while Ebel felt the single point of entry would numb two quickly and preferred multiple points. Sachiel felt they were both invalid since the loss of blood would eventually make the pain mute. He felt the practical application of certain drugs would work better. Asami frowned at them slightly worried about the psychiatrist.   
  
The three of them looked up from their discussion and Kei poured Asami another Brandy. Ebel smiled, "Ready for the final show? I take it we're going to ask questions now." 


	15. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you have not read Chapter Fourteen please go back one and read it first.  
> I posted it last night.  
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.  
> \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They started with Sudo. Pulling his hanging body forward as Sachiel rummaged through his green bag and pulling out several vials of colored liquids. He also pulled out four fist sized red and white balls with large buttons on them.   
  
He glanced up from where he was filling a syringe and answered Asami's unspoken question. "Poké Balls." He pointed to them one at a time, "Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Snivy, and Rowlet. They'll be important here in about ten minutes."   
  
He filled two syringes with the drugs from six different colored liquids. Each individual liquid was actually quite pretty ranging in colors across the spectrum. Pinks, greens, blues, and gold made up the vials separately but once they were mixed together the resulting liquid was muddy greenish brown.   
  
Sachiel passed one of the syringes to Suoh who dosed Sudo. Sachiel administered the drugs to Mathis, whispering as he did so, "Just some of the drugs your special team developed."   
  
Asami frowned at him when Sudo and Mathis started screaming. "We need them to be able to talk."   
  
Sachiel smiled, "They will be able to. The fire in their veins will only last for a few minutes. Then the hallucinogens will kick in they will both become very suggestible." He picked up the Poke balls, "Would you like to use Akihito's favorite?"   
  
Asami raised his eyebrow at the ball in his hand, "What are you talking about."   
  
"Chikorita is Akihito's favorite Grass starter in Pokémon. Though he waffled between that and Bulbasaur. Both of them get Razor Leaf as attacks but Chikorita gets it much sooner than Bulbasaur. Akihito says he prefers the animations for Razor Leaf over Vine Whip." Sachiel shrugged, "but we also have Snivy with Vine Whip, and Rowlet with Leafage and Peck."   
  
"That is not what my question is." Asami allowed his irritation to sound through his voice. "What I want to know is why you want us to use these?"   
  
"Oh, here let me show you." He picked up the ball he'd called Rowlet, pressed the small button in it and tossed it gently towards the two hanging men. The ball did several things. First it glowed gold and then it hovered briefly before the gold glow grew bright and flashed. When the flash was done the ball dropped softly to the ground and a small green feathered Owl stood in hi definition 3D halo vision.   
  
The owl looked at Sachiel who gestured to Sudo saying, "Rowlet, use Peck."   
  
The little owl flapped its wings, rose from the floor, and then rapidly dove at Sudo's face. A bright white light flashed and Sudo screamed and started begging, "Please no, get away, get away!!!" there was a small burn mark where the white light had touched Sudo's face.   
  
"The beauty of the Pokémon is that you don't have to get your hands dirty." He stepped back behind Elbel. "You don't have to use them. I personally feel it allows Akihito and Kaida a chance to participate, even if it is by proxy." He shrugged, "Your choice. They will mainly soften them up mentally, leaving the real hurt up to your hands. I had the developer keep the laser at its lowest setting. The most it can do is what you see on Sudo's face. At its highest setting it can cut through steel."   
  
Elbel smiled and picked up one of the two balls still sitting on the table, "Did Kaida have a favorite?"   
  
Sachiel frowned, "Not really, but I included Snivy because she liked its finial evolution, Serperior." He nodded at the ball. "Snivy's attack is called Vine Whip."   
  
Asami glanced at Elbel, "I can't believe you are humoring this."   
  
Elbel's smile didn't hide the underlying sadistic glee he was feeling. "When I consider the anguish Kaida and Akihito suffered in order to be turned from Fires to Radiants," he glanced at the red and white ball in his hand, "this is paltry. Besides I find it apropos that we're using a child's game to punish the men that hurt my grandchildren."   
  
Asami shook his head as he pressed the button on the ball he held, "Fine, Let's not spend too long on this part." He glared at Sudo, "I really don't want to have to deal with that one very long."   
  
Elbel and Asami's Poké balls landed at almost the same time. A green creature with legs ending in pointed hooves, a spiky green collar and a leaf on its head along with a strangely legged 'lizard' appeared in front of the two hanging men. Elbel called out for his Snivy to use Vine Whip on Mathis the long green whip reached out and struck the man across the face.   
  
The long burn mark across his cheek left a satisfied smirk on both Asami's and Elbel's faces. Those smirks widened when Asami instructed Chikorita to use Razor Leaf on Sudo. The laser slashed across the man's lower arm and face. The burn mark was deeper and bled. Sudo screamed.   
  
Sachiel winced, "Oops, maybe my buddy left that laser at level setting two." He picked up the last ball and tossed it to Suoh as he addressed the Owl, "Rowlet, Follow Kirishima's commands."   
  
The little owl bowed to Kei. Suoh tossed the last ball out to reveal the Bulbasaur a closed bloom with stubby legs and a frog face. Then Asami's Water and Earth joined in on having the creatures attack the two hanging men.   
  
They didn't spend very long with what all five men determined was a strangely enjoyable way of making their captives scream. Sachiel monitored the two men checking their hearts and temps every so often to ensure that they weren't overwhelmed by pain. Finally, he called a halt to the fun. "The hallucinogens are starting to wear off and they'll be able to recognize what is really hitting them soon."   
  
"The other serums should be working now. They will feel compelled to answer any questions you put to them. And they'll babbly when they respond moving closer to the truth the longer they talk. They might even just provide you information without you asking at this point."   
  
He collected the balls from the floor, clicking each button as he did so. The creatures appeared to be pulled back into the devices as they shut down. "I'll also get these set to the voices of their owners."   
  
"Their owners?" Asami picked up and sipped the last of his Brandy, "Those could be very dangerous for some kid to carry around."   
  
Sachiel smiled as he tucked the balls back into his bag. "I agree, but there are four young mages that are old enough to take care of them." He chuckled then, "This was actually their idea. Though don't tell them I said that."   
  
"Wait, what?" Asami growled at Sachiel, "Damn you, I didn't want Akihito to have any part in this. You don't know how he feels about hurting people."   
  
Sachiel shook his head, "No, I think you don't know how he feels about hurting people."   
  
Asami shoved his chair away and all but pushed Kei down to reach out and grab Sachiel's shirt and Jacket, "I don't take well to being told I don't understand my lifemate."   
  
Sachiel didn't even flinch as Asami grabbed him. "You realize that I'm not afraid of you, right? I wouldn't fear you at your angriest; I'm certainly not going to tremble for you just because you're irritated."   
  
Elbel laughed. It was loud and full of true mirth. "Oh, he's got you Ryuichi. There hasn't been a Jō in six hundred years that has intimidated Sachiel. He's too good at reading us."   
  
Asami released the Wind, "I still expect you to explain. I wasn't kidding about keeping this little party from Akihito."   
  
"And I had no plans for Kaida to know what we were doing here, either" Kirishima's voice was grim. "I won't have her upset at this time."   
  
Sachiel poured himself another glass of Obstler and sipped it before answering either of them. He set the glass down and asked his own question. "Did either of you ask Kaida and Akihito what they wanted?" He held up a hand before either could answer.   
  
"Consider this part of their therapy. Events require closure, especially painful events. Time doesn't always supply it." He pulled one of the balls back out of his satchel and rolled it around in his hands. "You are one of the strongest most protective Jō the People have. The only other Jō that even come close to your power and protective instincts are Fie Long of the Tengshe and Arbatov of the Oboroten'."   
  
He passed to ball to Asami, "Your younger Mages aren't stupid. All four of them know what you had planned to do here tonight. Just like they know the doubling of their guards and the constant vigil your people maintain around them is your way of ensuring something like Akihito's kidnapping doesn't happen again."   
  
He tapped the ball he'd given Asami, "Akihito hates that you feel you are the only one responsible for his and the other's safety. Kou feels useless to you with his poor control over his powers. Kaida and Takato hate you don't talk to them. At firs they'd planned on sneaking in here, but Kou pointed out that it wouldn't be fair to Akihito. This," he tapped the ball again, "This was their compromise and only after they decided on it did they even talk to me. The only modification I even made was to ensure the balls would be safe for them to keep afterwards."   
  
He looked Asami in the eye then. "Maybe that should tell you something; that your lifemate thought it would be a better idea for this to come through me than taking it straight to you." He plucked the ball back out of Asami's hands, "You can be as angry as you want with me; it won't bother me to be the target."   
  
Asami gritted his teeth then said low enough even the four men closest to him had to strain to hear him. "I'm not angry."   
  
Sachiel slung the messenger bag over his shoulder and grinned, "I know and we'll talk about that in our next one on one session." He nodded to the two hanging men, "Right now you have a job to finish."   
  
Suoh spoke up then, "I thought you were going to stay until we learned where your bother was at."   
  
Sachiel shook his head, "I just said that to explain why I was here. To be honest I need to go throw up. The first half was a bit more than I can stomach. Just because I don't disagree with your actions doesn't mean I really wanted to watch them. There was a reason I kept engaging Elbel in conversation." He left then much quicker than he'd entered the building and if the four of them could hear retching just outside the door they choose to not speak of it.   
  
Asami looked at Elbel, "That is the strangest Wind I've ever dealt with."   
  
Elbel laughed, "Just wait, he'll get worse. Every Jō he's worked with has tossed him out; citing irreconcilable differences in the bond."   
  
"Hum, he's like an older version of my kitten. He does a good job of hiding it, but he's just as damaged as Akihito isn't he?"   
  
Elbel nodded, "it is not my story to tell but Aloysius and Sachiel didn't have good childhoods. I was too busy consolidating the Silberdrache to notice but my younger brother was not a good Jō and he was and even worse father. Aloysius' response to the man's brutality was to embrace it. Sachiel refuted it and everything the man stood for."   
  
Elbel looked at the door, "To date he's the only Mage to break a Jō's bond on his own. I find it strange that I hope you succeed where I failed so many years ago." He looked back at Asami, "I know things have been strained between us since the meeting in June, but please give that one a home too?"   
  
Asami rested a hand on the older Jo's shoulder, "I'll fight to keep him as strongly as he fights to leave."   
  
Elbel nodded, "Good." He stood and turned to the two men hanging almost forgotten in moment. "Now let's finish this. I suddenly find I want to spend time with my grandchildren."   
  
Asami took the pair of leather gloves Kei produced while Suoh handed Elbel a pair. They pulled them on and stepped up to Sudo.   
  
Asami lightly tapped the man's face. Sudo had slipped into unconsciousness seconds before Sachiel had called a halt to the earlier torture. Now he snorted and shook his head trying to clear the sweat from his eyes. "Asami-sama, please. I only wanted you to notice me."   
  
"Hum, well I notice you now, Shu. Tell me when and why you have this?" He flicked the dragon brand.   
  
"Um," Sudo tried to think through the pain running across his skin. "I got it to honor you, months ago."   
  
Asami hummed again then punched Sudo in the kidneys sending the man swinging and causing him to release a horse scream, "Lies, Shu." He stopped the swinging and took the man's face between his hands. "I can tell when you're giving them to me, Shu. They smell like rotting fish."   
  
He squeezed his hand together infusing them with the heat his young Fire gave him access to. Kou might think he was useless but Asami knew better. He'd have to correct that and apparently several other misconceptions his youngest mages had. Right now however he would use their powers. He'd planned to proxy for them all along. He'd just never intended for them to know.   
  
Flames licked along the sides of Sudo's face and Sudo screamed, "NO!"   
  
"Tell me what you've done for Verräter Aloysius and I will make the rest of this quick." He yanked his gloves away ripping the burned skin from the man's face.   
  
"Please, please stop. I…I'll tell you."   
  
Sudo blubbered and whined through his confession. How he'd used his contacts in the government and Yakuza he'd had access to as Club Dracen's manager to broker unapproved deals behind Asami's back. He peppered his confessions with the assurance he only didn't because he love Asami and wanted to show he was worthy of the man.   
  
He talked about the loss of the crates of oranges he'd housed in one of his off the books warehouses on the old docks and how to pay back the group that hired him he'd had to procure mining tools and one of the new engines for them.   
  
Asami grabbed him at that point, "You gave Aloysius a FAL engine?!?!?! When? From which transport?"   
  
"The last one your facility sent. The delivery has already been routed to the man."   
  
Blind rage crawled across Asami's brain. In response to it he gathered Kaida's lightening. He threw it at Sudo's body. It ran along the metal chains across the metal beams and struck Mathis as well as spreading across the roof and lighting up the sky. He repeated it over and over, "You idiot! You've given him the means to escape!"   
  
Kei threw up an earthen barrier between one set of lightening and the next, "Ryuichi! We need Mathis alive!"   
  
Suoh stepped between his Jo and the focus of his sudden rage, "Kei is right, Ryuichi. You need to calm down and think this through."   
  
Asami nodded and released the balled lightening, "Sorry."   
  
The slap of fist to skin had him turning to watch Elbel with Mathis. The dragon growled, "What are you laughing at?"   
  
"I was admiring how Asami wielded the little dragon's power." He turned his head enough to look at Asami, "Aloysius always wanted that power. He's stupid like that." He coughed up some blood, "Now he's found something superior. He always assumed that the fuchs was worthless; he knows better now."   
  
Asami strode over to the obviously dying man. He pulled his kitten's power to him and slowly fed it into the man. He didn't' want to heal the man too much.   
  
Elble gripped the man's face, "What are you talking about?"   
  
"This." Mathis looked down at the light streaming into his body. "The fuchs can heal. Do you have any idea how powerful that makes the boy's Jō?"   
  
He smiled then, "Oh and the drug that prevents Mages from using their power? It doesn't work on me. The only reason I haven't escaped from here is because I've been feeding it to my master. Tell me Asami-sama do you know all the routes into and out of your penthouse?"   
  
Asami stopped feeding life power into the man, "What are you talking about?"   
  
"Takeo is already leading my master up the secrete steps from your basement. Your most powerful Mages are here and Aloysius doesn't actually need me anymore does he? You already have another Fire waiting on him. Just think of the four little untrained Mages just ripe for the picking."   
  
Talons sprang from Elbel's finger tips as he swiped at Mathis' throat. "He'll at least have no fire to use now," was the only comment made as he turned to rush out the door.   
  
Asami followed quickly behind. He didn't even have to order Suoh to rip out Sudo's neck or leave orders for the remaining guards. The non-mages left behind in their mad dash to the limo knew how to do the cleanup.   
  
As Asami, Elbel and their four mages piled into the already moving Limo Asami reached desperately for his lifemate, "Kitten! Answer me!"   
  
Akihito, Kaida, Takato, Kou, and several of their guards were playing Pokémon HV. They were doing two on two battles trying to raise their team's level in preparation for taking on the nearest virtual Gym. It was held by a group of Ghost users and the leader was really tough.   
  
Takato had done the math just moments before and declared that every pocket monster in their group had to be at least fifteenth level before they tried. If the group could break through the Gym's defenses then Aki could take on the Gym leader and probably get the group the Relic Badge.   
  
It was bad luck that the building's private Gym had most recently manifested as Fantina's Sinnoh League Ghost Gym. According to the boards it would be another month before a different Gym would manifest there. Their only hope was to secure the Relic Badge so that Fantina would de-spawn.   
  
So when Asami had decided to take the night to extract information from Mathis and others and had suggested that Aki should spend some time with Takato and Kou they'd invited up Kaida as well. When Kano arrived barely minutes after Asami had left Aki had almost laughed. However, he merely groaned at the guard's excuse and invited him to join the team.   
  
Under HV rules each challenger in a group could not have more than two pokémon in their party and groups could not exceed eight members. Akihito, Kaida, Takato, and Kou had despaired of being able to take the Gym by themselves. With the addition of Kano and one each of Kaida's, Takato's, and Kou's guards they had a full group.   
  
In fact with the exception of Toshiro and Ohta all their guards were in the penthouse. And when you added in the full time cook/maid and the full time nurse that always remained until Asami dismissed them the penthouse held nearly twenty people as they gamed.   
  
The pent house was full of laughter and groaning. They ordered pizza from the building's restaurant and paused in their battles to gorge themselves. Well everyone but Akihito. He did consume one piece. However he switched to the thick protein drink he was supposed to have afterwards. He may complain about the things, but they really did help him settle any solid food he ate better than anything else.   
  
It had been several hours since Asami had left and Akihito was starting to feel strained. He'd promised to not reach out to his lifemate while they were separated this one evening. Akihito knew it was because Asami wanted to shield him from the brutality he was certain Asami was handing out to Mathis and the others.   
  
He sat curled up in the oversized single seat watching as Kou and Takato battled it out between Takato's Frogadier and Kou's Larvesta. Takato should have been the clear winner, but Kou had taught his Larvesta both Toxic and Absorb the combination of persistent poison damage and repeated grass damage was taking a toll on Takato's poor Frogadier. It was finally decided when Toxic took the last of Frogadier's hit points after fainting Larvesta. Takato's Gabite didn't stand a chance against Kou's Morelull.   
  
"GHA!" Takato flopped onto the love seat, "What is it with you and grass and bug types?! You're a Fire Mage for goodness sake!"   
  
Kou laughed, "I have fire types; you just need to diversify your Pokémon's move sets more. Be honest how many none water moves does your Frogadier have?"   
  
"Hey, he has Pound and Lick!"   
  
"Why not Hidden Power or Ice Beam? They have the same hit chance as Pound and Lick and do more damage."   
  
Takato mumbled under his breath.   
  
"What was that I didn't hear you?"   
  
"I said I haven't run the quest for any of those TM's yet."   
  
Kou flopped down next to him and grabbed another slice of pizza, "We could do one with you. I kind of need Hidden Power myself."   
  
Takato sat up. "Oh no, I know how this will work. We'll all go together and then because there are eight of us there will be the chance of a special drop. You know my luck. Instead of getting Hidden Power we'll end up with something like Sleep Talk or Attract."   
  
He grabbed a piece of pizza and talked around the bite he took. "That would be useless since none of my Pokémon can learn those moves until much later."   
  
Akihito spoke up then, "Why don't just you and Kou go then." He flipped the quest log open and pulled up the needed information. "If it is only two of you, then you can pull it up in the dining room." He glanced up at them. "To be honest I'm kind of tired."   
  
Kaida stood then, "Why didn't you say something. We should have left long ago so you could sleep."   
  
Kano looked disturbed at that thought and was about to say something when Akihito shook his head, "No, you know Asami wanted us all together tonight. I don't need you guys to leave. I just need to take a nap. Asami's room is completely silent when the door's shut. I'll go sleep in there."   
  
Kaida frowned but nodded, "We'll still try to keep it down out here. Need help to the bed?"   
  
Akihito hated that his sister asked, but nodded. He was glad that it was Kano that picked him though. He was positive he wouldn't have been able to be so nonchalant about being carried around had it been Kou or Takato.   
  
His guard took him down the hallway and placed him on the hall door side of the larger than king sized bed. The room was cool and Kano pulled extra blankets over his charge without asking or commenting. Akihito just closed his eyes glad that Asami had bathed him and dressed him in flannel pajama pants and top with thick socks and one of his own sweatshirts. The blankets didn't really help warm him up. They only kept the heat in; Akihito needed Asami's warmth to stop feeling cold.   
  
Kano didn't darken the room. Since returning home none of the penthouse lights were ever truly turned off. The only difference between rooms was how bright the lights were allowed to be. Akihito rarely screamed himself awake but he would start should he awaken in a completely dark room.   
  
It was the sound of the secret door opening that woke him. He pushed himself up and would have screamed except for the hand that slapped over his mouth. Takeo had leapt on the bed and covered his lips growling, "Oh, no you don't, you filthy crossbreed."   
  
Aki nodded slowly and Takeo released his mouth and pulled his arm out from under the covers, "Aaron hand me the serum." He held his hand back and a man Akihito had never seen before placed a syringe into his former guard's hand. Aki flinched at the prick of the needle. "There now you can't contact Asami-sama."   
  
Takeo looked at his Jo, "Master, do you really need to get the others?"   
  
Aloysius smiled, "Worried about me, Earth?"   
  
Takeo shivered, "No Master, but I know we have a long trip to reach the ship and a prolonged fight with the guards in the other room will only delay us."   
  
Aloysius shrugged, "I had hoped to at least snag the Fire, but it is as you've said. Let's be gone before they know we've taken the prize."   
  
Aki couldn't fight them. He might have drawn upon his powers but that might have alerted the group in the next room and he wasn't going to put his sister and her unborn baby in any sort of danger. So he meekly allowed the one called Aaron to pick him up and carry him out of the bedroom. Past the wall of toys in Asami's playroom and down the secret corridor Akihito knew led to stairs that would take them to the parking garage.   
  
Kano and the others remained behind keeping vigil over an empty bedroom.   
  
Asami tried to reach out to his lifemate. He was glad when he didn't meet the black wall that had caused him headaches. Instead he found a dark nearly black fog. He wondered through it calling Akihito's name. Every third or fourth call he'd hear a faint reply.   
  
His wrist compute buzzed; he ignored it. The buzzing became persistent and he angrily swiped his availability to 'do not disturb'. Kirishima's computer buzzed next. Kei answered, "No is not a good time Arbatov."   
  
"Make time glasses. I've heard from my plant in that Eastern European Group Asami and I have been trying to oust."   
  
"That is good news Arbatov, but we are busy with something else right now."   
  
"If it is rushing to prevent Akihito's second kidnapping then you're too late. Aaron says that Aloysius already has the boy and they're on their way to Sado Island. Apparently Aloysius has had a hidden house there for the last twenty odd years." Arbatov paused, "Is Elbel with you?"   
  
"I'm here," Elbel replied.   
  
Kei passed transferred the call to Asami's wrist and set about issue order for Asami's short flight Airbus to be prepped and ready to fly to Sado in twenty minutes.   
  
Asami spoke then, "What do you need with Elbel?"   
  
They heard Mikhail sigh, "According to Aaron, if you want to save Akihito and Aria, you'll have to allow Aloysius to board the ship."   
  
"Like hell I will!"   
  
Asami, listen to me. According to my source both of Akihito's and Kaida's biological parents are in stasis on board the ship Aloysius plans to take out of system. It is a small version of the generational ships only over two thirds of the population are children between three and sixteen."   
  
"Aloysius has the children convinced that that Aria and Hirito are their parents and that the two of them want all of them to seek a new planet."   
  
"Wait, what?"   
  
"I know it's fucked up. Apparently all Aloysius has been waiting on these past six months was one of the new FAL drives, but when he found out you had Aria's and Hirito's actual children he postponed his plans to try and take them along."   
  
"Wait so we only got Akihito back because Aloysius was still trying to get to Kaida?" Kei was furious, "Does the man hold no sanctity for the lifemate bond?"   
  
Arbatov replied, "Not according to Aaron. Aloysius told him that the only reason Aria is in stasis is because she became too weak after years of forced separation from Hirito. Aaron says Aloysius believes that Akihito can solve that problem for him. He plans on using Akihito's healing abilities to keep Aria alive after he kills her lifemate."   
  
"That will kill Akihito." Asami gripped the seat cushion ripping it. "Kei how much longer to the air bus?"   
  
"We're pulling up to it now sir."   
  
"Asami!"   
  
"What Mikhail?" He growled as he climbed out of the limo. The tarmac was loud from the already running Air bus engines. "I'm about to cut you off!"   
  
"Be careful, Aaron says the children are all mages. You know Aloysius will have zero problems sacrificing them to prevent you from taking Akihito back. Fei and I won't be able to reach you in time to help."   
  
Asami reached the top of the air bus steps and slipped inside and into his seat. "I understand." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I formally beg forgiveness now for using anyone's beloved Pokemon to do harm to the miscreants in this story. It is all my fifteen year old daughter's fault. when I asked her what would make good torture equipment she said and I quote "You should let Bulbasaur whip them." 
> 
> I'm so proud of her.


	16. Promise Not to Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am posting every day or so. If you have not yet read Chapters 15 or 16, I'm letting you know I only just posted them on 1/27 and 1/28.  
> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

Akihito closed his eyes and tried to reach Asami again. The muddy mist was clearing and he could hear Asami's voice trying to reach him through the sludge clouding his brain.  
  
They had driven for what felt like several hours before stopping at a private field far outside Tokyo. From there they climbed aboard an air hopper. That relieved Akihito somewhat. If they were getting on a hopper then it was unlikely they would be leaving the island. That meant Asami might still be able to find him.  
  
He closed his eyes and reached for his lifemate again, but only touched him briefly before the landing of the hopper jolted him. The man that was carrying him glanced down and for half a second Akihito thought he saw concern in the man's face. When he really looked though the impassive dull look was back and Aki decided that he imagined it.  
  
Panic set in as he looked around as he was carried out of the hopper and across the grassy field. They were going to take him off island. It just wasn't to another continent they were going. He'd seen images of the generational ships that set out every five to ten years.  
  
They were manned by people believing that they'd find a better place to live out beyond the small solar system in which earth spun. They were oblong and often taller than they were long. While the one they were carrying him into was smaller than he'd ever seen, it was definitely a generational ship. He tried squirming and pounded on the man named Aaron. The man just tightened his hold and followed Aloysius and Takeo onto the ship. Aki couldn't fight the tears that started leaking as soon as the door behind them slid shut.  
  
Asami's group found the ship easily. It wasn't the size that gave it away but multitude of lights and people swarming around the ship in what looked to be pre-flight checks. He and the others strode up to the nearest worker and asked for the person in charge.  
  
They were pointed to a small man bent over a small tablet. He was muttering to himself and every so often he would jerk his right pointer finger downward. The area around them was loud and full of the sounds of steel being riveted to steel. The man looked up and gasped, "Kirishima-san! What brings you to this desolate location?"  
  
Kei smiled, "I wouldn't normally call Sado desolate, Hrito."  
  
The man laughed, "As dry as ever, Kirishima, really what brings you to my neck of the woods."  
  
"I heard someone was building a generational ship using one of the new FAL drives. I thought I'd come out and see it."  
  
The man frowned, "Didn't know you were interested in ships and engines Kirishima. Always figured you for a numbers guy."  
  
"Actually I am a numbers guy. The engine was stolen from Sion's shipment to the government."  
  
The man dropped his tablet, "Wait, what? But?" He bent over and scrambled for his tablet, "I've got a receipt and everything." He pulled up the documents on his tablet.  
  
Kirishima took the tablet and scrolled through them. "Ah, I see what is wrong. Did you validate the Serial number on the outer shielding before installing?"  
  
The man shook his head, "Mainly because I haven't installed it yet. That German is crazy if he thinks this thing is getting off the ground in anything less than two weeks." He gestured to the group and started walking under the ship.  
  
They paused under the largest part and when Asami looked up there was a large hole in the back quarter of the oblong body. The man pointed up, "As you can see," he looked up himself, "Well just imagine you can see. The engine compartment isn't even complete. The normal thrusters for atmospheric flight and maneuvering haven't even been installed."  
  
He glanced down at the tablet, "Now you tell me my main engine was high jacked."  
  
He looked up and finally glanced behind Kirishima. His eyes grew wide and he glanced between Kei and Asami several times before he was able to close his mouth. He then looked at Kirishima and asked, "How would you like a tour of the ship Kei?"  
  
"We'd love to see the private accommodations." Asami answered.  
  
Hitori led them through the cargo holds. Near the one closest to the open engine area sat the crate that held the FAL engine that would have allowed Aloysius to escape them, had it been installed.  
  
They traveled along several corridors and almost rounded the ship completely. It was as they neared the top level of living quarters that they heard the gun shots and Akihito scream.  
  
Aki stopped trashing once the door behind him closed. He started thinking instead. Aloysius hadn't harmed him. That probably meant he wanted him to use his powers for him as long as he could hold out and not allow himself to be on the ship when it left he could go back to Asami.  
  
He started making note of how many turns and lifts they took to get where ever they were going. He might be weak but he wasn't going to stay docile forever and he needed to know how to get off the ship.  
  
As he collected this information he started noticing the state of the ship. Covers that would normally go over electrical panels were lying on the floor. The lifts were still missing some of their inside walls and there were workers everywhere.  
  
Hope started growing in his chest; the ship wasn't finished. With any luck it would be days or even weeks before it would be ready. With a lighter heart he finally started paying attention to the people around him.  
  
It was strange there were a lot of children in what Aki decided must be the living quarters of the ship. They went around and about the levels until they came to the most complete level Akihito had seen yet. They stopped in front of a closed door where Aloysius used his left ring finger to open the lock. The door slid open and Aloysius leads them inside.  
  
The room lights up as Aloysius entered. The room was walled in white panels and a large viewing area was set just outside the far wall and the huge sliding glass panels it was made of. In the center of the room facing away from the door were two bio-statsis tubes.  
  
Aloysius took them around the room and around their fronts. He pushed several buttons on the wall and the glass paneled wall slid aside. Akihito watched as numerous children started filling the space through doors on the far side of the viewing area.  
  
He turned he head and looked at the Bio-statsis tubes. In the smaller one was a dark blue gray seven tailed fox. It was curled up as if asleep in the larger of the two was a bright gold dragon. Akihito gasped when he saw them.  
  
Aaron sat him on his feet and Aki forced his tired shaky limbs to propel him across the smooth floor to the bio-statsis tube holding what he knew had to be his father. He flattened one of his hands against the clear tempered glass. Then he turned in anger, "What are they doing here?"  
  
He stumbled towards Aloysius, "Let them go!"  
  
Aloysius pulled a modified mining pistol from under his suit jacket. He ignored Akihito's outburst and spoke to the assembled children. "It is time my children. Your mother can now be broken from the abomination that has trapped her for the many years. She will be free to love you."  
  
He pointed it to the smaller pod and fired several times. Aki screamed as the glass shattered and the pressure of the cryogenic air forced the hexagon shaped pieces of glass to explode outward. The release of pressure caused the covering to hang in disjointed pieces away from the pod.  
  
Several things happened at once. Aloysius shoved Akihito away from him towards the larger of the two pods snarling about it being his job to save his mother before she died. A group of men shoved their way into the room most halting short as they took in the situation. Asami however nearly flew across the room shifting as he leapt to land in front of Akihito in his fox form and the dragon in the larger pod behind them started thrashing.  
  
Aki could feel his father dying. He wasn't even certain how. Asami's closeness caused the muddy smog that had clouded his connection to his life mate and his power to clear. He started to gather his power thinking to himself, _I can save him! I saved that little girl._ He started moving towards his father's tank.  
  
Asami turned and looked at Akihito shouting 'No!' in tandem with Aloysius shouting "NO! Heal Aria!" When Akihito didn't stop and started pushing his healing light into the Kitsune's bloody form Aloysius fired again as Asami threw his larger body over his lifemate's form.  
  
Akihito felt the three burning holes that pierced Asami's body, one through his left hind leg, one high in his shoulder, and the last through his center chest. Asami slipped out of his fox form and Akihito found himself holding his lifemate's bleeding body.  
  
Nothing else that happening in the room made it past Akihito's sudden focused awareness. He didn't see his grandfather, Kirishima, and Suoh tackle Aloysius. Nor was he cognizant to Aaron capturing Takeo or the group of men taking and controlling the sudden outburst from the dozen or so children in the room. All he could see, all he could hear was Asami as the man closed his eyes and spoke across their connection _Don't cry you're safe now._  
  
_Safe! How can I be safe? You're leaving me! Don't leave me!_ He pulled on the light around them plunging the room into near darkness. Aki pushed his life force at the hole in Asami's chest. He had no idea what he was doing but he knew he had to save the man. Everyone depended on him; Japan needed him. Kaida and Kirishima needed him. He couldn't die.  
  
Time stopped having meaning. He quickly became light and entered his wounded lifemate. He knitted muscles, rebuilt tissue and bound bones. He spent what could have been several minutes to days repairing the burned holes in Asami's heart.  
  
He lost track of where he was as he moved from the wounds in Asami's chest to the one in his shoulder. He was busy repairing the underlying muscle when he heard his Asami call him.  
  
_Kitten?_  
  
_Asami, you're ok? You don't hurt anymore?_ Akihito cried as he tried to pause in healing his lifemate's wounds but it was like the valve had become stuck open and he just kept pouring his own life force into Asami.  
  
Asami opened his eyes and pushed himself up to lean on the base of the larger boi_statsis tube. Akihito was pure light and tears sprang to Asami's eyes. He shoved himself to his knees and tried to gather the boy into his arms, "NO! Please Kitten, don't do this!"  
  
Gold and silver light streamed out of the pods on either side of him and the battles going on between the others halted at the never before seen sight of a Jō and a Fire forming out of pure light.  
  
Asami felt another pair of arms try to take Akihito from him. He growled as he looked up to see a young Japanese man with hazel eyes smile, "Let me help." The voice was both in his head and sounded about the large room.  
  
The man wrapped his arms about the insubstantial form Akihito had become. Slowly he fed his own life force into the boy's body shutting off the running stream between Akihito and Asami and slowly rebuilding the boy's physical form. Asami looked up when a golden stream of light joined the silver one. Behind the young man was a silver, gold haired woman; her hands were resting on the man's shoulders. He knew then that this was Akihito's and Kaida's parents. What had they suffered to be turned into Sanrantaru?  
  
It seemed like hours but Asami knew it could have only been minutes they spent feeding his lifemate their life force. As Akihito grew in strength and presence Elbel finally found his voice. He reached for the golden woman, "Aria?"  
  
She smiled, "Yes." She looked at her slowly fading form then her lifemates, "Though I will not be here for long." She turned back to Asami, "I trust you to care for them to give them everything we could not."  
  
Asami pulled his lifemate's body closer to himself, "I will."  
  
Their combined light started leaving their forms faster, and it was obvious there was no stopping its flow now. Suddenly the lights across the ship went out and all that could be seen was the last sparks of Aria's and Hirto's magic as it entered their son.  
  
Everything was black briefly then the emergency lights came on. The brief silence was broken by Aloysius screaming in rage. He ripped himself from Suoh and Kei's arms and threw himself at Asami and Akihito.  
  
Asami threw a tube of steel around the man and carefully laid Akihito on the floor. He stood about the time Aloysius broke through the barrier. The man was crazed. Luckily, he was so crazed he didn't think to pull on the power of his mages.  
  
Instead he threw himself at Asami physically, transforming into his dragon form as he did so. Asami switched to his Kitsune from and the two men slammed together with bared teeth and claws.  
  
The initial clashes were sans actual claws and muzzles. The two men slamming into each other as Aloysius attempted to reach Akihito's body and Asami barred his way. Finally Aloysius attempted to bite Asami, who responded with a slap across the man's muzzle. Bright red slashes crossed the right side of the dragon's face and he dropped to four feet with a low growl.  
  
Asami tensed. Aloysius, if the man had ever been before this, was no longer in his right mind. He was actually drooling and he'd stopped speaking coherently after his first scream. Now he merely growled and lowered himself to his haunches.  
  
Asami pulled on both Kaida's and Kou's powers as the dragon leapt at him. He surrounded his teeth with fire and lightning ducking low under the dragon's leap.  
  
Aloysius growled in excitement believing Asami had made a mistake and stretched his neck out so he could clamp his jaws about the Akihito's now exposed head. His teeth clamped around air as he was brought up short by the powerful jaws wrapped about his throat.  
  
Searing pain ran through the bite as Asami sunk in his burning teeth and ripped the dragon's throat out as he sailed past the crouching Kitsune. Aloysius automatically switched out of his dragon form as he crashed to the floor. Asami kicked his hands away as they still scrambled to reach Akihito.  
  
The dragon looked up at Asami a feral grin in place. It was almost visible the power the man was pulling into himself. The children around the room started fainting. Asami moved to intercept the flow of magic only to have Elbel beat him to the punch.  
  
The older dragon slapped his hands about Aloysius' lower arms forcing the physically weakened Jō to press his wrist against Elbel's. Then Elbel chanted. His voice was strong and clear. Aloysius tried fighting but his connection to the children was weak and in his eagerness to do harm he'd over extended his own control. Within seconds Elbel had forced the dying Jō to relinquish the children into Elbel's control. Aloysius released one last shuttering breath and died.  
  
Elbel all but collapsed as he tried to manage the power Aloysius had yanked form the young mages. One of his Earths had to help him settle to the floor. Asami nodded in thanks and turned back to his lifemate.  
  
Akihito was much more substantial than he'd been before being brought to the ship. The lax muscles and hanging skin had filled out. his bones no longer stuck out of too loose skin and the gray cast to his skin was gone replaced by the healthy glow it should have.  
  
Asami carried Akihito to a nearby sleeping quarter. He pulled the boy's sweatshirt and flannel pajamas off his lifemate and ran his hands across his skin. Where once were scars and lesions from his prolonged captivity was smooth unblemished skin, even the horrid dragon's head that had been burned into his stomach was now gone. Only Asami's brand of the two Kitsune remained.  
  
It took nearly three days to sort out the ship and the land and the engine. They also had to deal with the children. It turned out that there were thirty-seven human born orphans that Aloysius had had his scientist turn. Luckily, none beyond the small redhead found Akihito had been fires.  
  
On the first day Sachiel, Riki, Kaida, Takato, and Kou were flown out to the location. All of them helped with the proceedings. It was Takato that found the missing information about just how Aloysius had pulled off hiding Aria and Hirito.  
  
There was a diary, kept by Aloysius. It went back over a hundred years. It was a clear display of the man's decent into madness that led to Akihito and Kaida's conditions. It spoke about how he found Aria and Hitori crashed on the snowy mountain road. How at first he brought them to one of his facilities with the thought to save them.  
  
It talked about how Aria woke first and how she'd been too weak to move much and how she would talk to him each time he visited her. Each entry after she woke displayed an ever increasing decent into madness. He fell in 'love' with the young Jō and became convinced that with her he could have children. Unknown to her, his scientist were drugging her and preventing her from walking while blocking her connection to her lifemate.  
  
Only when the separation started to harm her more than she could handle did he relinquish and allow them to connect. Hirito tried to get her to leave without him and Aloysius' response was to place the Kitsune in an induced coma and punishing him with drugs and starvation whenever Aria didn't do as the man wanted.  
  
Aria stopped fighting Aloysius after that and allowed the man to lay with her. When even after six months Aloysius was unable to impregnate her he had his scientist do it for him. They tried several times using Aloysius sperm but after a year he gave up and decided to use Hirito. Using sperm collected from her lifemate they fertilized six eggs and implanted the embryos in Aria's womb. Only two survived.  
  
It talked about Aloysius meeting Mathis and learning that the man had dug up the secrete to creating Radiants. Mathis convinced Aloysius that with the right Radiants he could take Elbel's place as the head of the Silberdrache.  
  
There were detailed entries about each child he and Mathis selected to become part of the program. Each child had to be between four and ten. Each had to be true orphans and must come from locations proven more concerned about placing the children in homes than in ensuring the children's welfares. Sadly many such places existed across the world.  
  
Asami read the entry on when Aloysius determined that he would have to attempt to change Kaida and Akihito into Sanrantaru. Mathis had already made his way through nearly fifty children with fewer than twenty being successfully converted into a member of the People. None were fires.  
  
Aloysius allowed Aria to spend the children's birthday with them. Usually he kept them separated and only allowed her to visit them in the barred windowed bedroom they were kept chained in. He had apparently felt guilty about what he was going to do to them and didn't wish to stress his 'love' so after the two children were returned to their prison, Aloysius had his scientist place Aria into a medical coma. The plan to leave the planet wasn't formed until a year after Akihito and Kaida escaped the lab.  
  
A special council meeting was called. The group spent most of the three days meeting virtually and decided which Jōs the children would be split among. Elbel and Asami both were given the choice to bond with the small redhead first. Asami passed granting Elbel first try. It was with strange relief the elder man also refused.  
  
Aibi took charge and summoned her own granddaughter from Ireland and by the end of the third day the child was flying home under her new Jō's care. The other children under ten were dealt with equally as easily. It took longer with teens. Apparently, many of them had not bonded with Aloysius willing and were reluctant to give themselves over to anyone else.  
  
Finally it was Fei that solved the problem. "I already have an entire training facility for Tao. I will bond with you and once you reach twenty-one you can pick your own Jō." The teens discussed and agreed.  
  
Kirishima's friend was instructed to finish the ship. Asami sent the Engine on to the military, but ensured that the next one coming off the line would be available for use by the man. Aloysius was clever in building such a small vessel. There were many small groups that wished to strike out on their own but the normal generational ships were too large for just them and they were forced to wait until enough people had signed on to go before a ship could be filled. The new smaller design allowed for these groups to travel as soon as a vessel could be prepared.  
  
So it was that by the end of three days, Kirishima had secured the paten under Sion for his old college buddy's design and worked out an agreement with Boeing to build them. Sion would supply the engines and the design, while Boeing would supply the manufacturing facilities and labor. He also made his old friend a lead design architect at Sion's corporate headquarters.  
  
Somehow they got this all done in three days and Akihito slept. Asami was worried about that. The boy didn't even connect to him once and he was blocking Asami allowing only the barest of connections. Sachiel preached patience but by then end of the third day even he agreed Asami needed to do something. He waited until they had returned home. Carrying Akihito's unconscious body into the penthouse and placing him in their bed.  
  
He stripped and cleaned his Kitten then showered himself and slipped into their bed pulling the sheet and blankets over both of them. He pulled Akihito into his arms, tucked him to his right side with the boy's head on his right pectoral and the boy's right hand over his heart. He ordered the penthouse computer to shut off all the lights except for the small halo vid candles that surrounded their master bedroom. Then he closed his eyes and threw himself at Akihito's mind.  
  
Aki sat on their balcony. His knees were pulled to his chest with his arms wrapped about them. The air was wet and chilly and the boy was not dressed for the weather. The heavens raged and sheets of water poured off the balcony overhang. His Kitten was crying.  
  
In his kitten's mind Asami found himself clothed in the dark silk sleep pants and thick terry cloth robe he would often wear at home. So he took advantage of them and knelt behind Akihito pulling the boy into his arms. "Talk to me, Kitten. What is going on in your thoughts?"  
  
"I don't know." Akihito leaned back against his lifemate. "I honestly don't know why my thoughts are so turbulent. My parents died saving me." He turned in Asami's arms and hugged the man about the waist. "I'm torn between immense relief that I didn't died before I got to tell you how I feel and cold grief that I've lost both parents without ever really being allowed to know them."  
  
He glanced up, "I know it's going to take many, many days before I can wrap my head around this and I didn't want to be a bother. You have many other things better to do than coddle me."  
  
Asami frowned and gripped Akihito's jaw with his fingers, "I will always have time for you. All you ever need to do it ask. Do you have any idea what you mean to me?"  
  
Aki pulled back and pushed his lifemate's robe open. Asami had a scar. It was high on his left chest just under the shoulder bone. It was a strange place for the small mottled round patch of skin to be. The shot hadn't hit any bone or major nerves so it should have healed. There was a similar one in the man's right thigh. Two wounds Aki had been unable to heal.  
  
He traced the scar with the first two fingers of his right hand before answering, "I think so." He looked up, "and that is what confuses me the most. How can someone like you want someone like me?"  
  
Asami cupped his Kitten's cheek and kissed his lips. The kiss wasn't deep or probing. It was soft and feathery. They licked and brushed each other's mouths taking pleasure in being with each other. Asami used the time they spent to think on how to answer the boy's question. When Akihito pulled back panting slightly with wide blown out eyes he knew.  
  
"I do want you Akihito." He rubbed the boy's arms and cupped his butt with both hands before turning the boy to face him completely. "I want you so much I have to take cold showers most nights." He pulled Akihito into the vee of his hips and rubbed their erections together. "This however would never get me to throw myself in front of gun for someone. I will only ever do that for the ones I love."  
  
Akihito frowned, "What?"  
  
"You are my lifemate you foolish boy. The one being perfect for me in every way. The one the universe made just for me. How could I not love you?"  
  
"Asami, I......" A finger silenced Akihito's lips.  
  
"When you're ready. I can wait just like with those ropes. We have a lifetime to get to that. All I want right now is for you promise not to leave me ever again."  
  
Aki smiled as all his doubts fled. Then he blushed and stammered as he twisted his fingers in Asami's robe, "alright." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter!!  
> And at least one epilogue.  
> (I think)  
> and then I'll post my research notes. :-P


	17. A Place to Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Finder Series (Viewfinder), is written by, illustrated by, and belongs to Yamane Ayano. I own none of her characters and make no money from this fan fiction.

Akihito wiped the kitchen counters clean for the fourth time. Well fifth time if one was actually counting and he most definitely wasn't. He scrunched the rag in his hands and then angrily tossed it into the sink. It was all Asami's fault, him and his stupid gifts.   
  
Akihito's irritation had started that morning when the man had casually placed a small wrapped box in front of him during breakfast. It had startled Aki enough to cause him to drop his chopsticks. He'd started at the little box like it was a snake.   
  
Still he'd looked up and stammered out, "I thought we were going to exchange our gifts tomorrow?"   
  
The man had nodded, "Yes, well yours has a bunch of little pieces to it and frankly I'm not that patient. So," He gestured to the box as he sat and picked up his own chopsticks, "I decided to start early. Don't worry there will be plenty for you to open tomorrow."   
  
"I don't want all this stuff; I thought we talked about this." Aki remembered trying to push the box back towards Asami.   
  
Asami nodded and finished chewing his food before replying, "We did in three separate sessions with Sachiel. Do I need to remind you what he said?"   
  
Aki remembered the embarrassment that flooded his face as he'd answered, "That giving gifts is one of your love languages and you aren't trying to pay me to convince me to stay." He'd pulled the gift back to himself and fiddled with the silky bow before taking a deep breath and pulling it loose.   
  
The box top was wrapped separately from the box so once the ribbon was removed it had just been a matter of lifting the lid off. Aki had done so very slowly. When he looked in the box he found a new key chain. It was made of heavy steel and had been pressed into a tiny replica of his favorite camera and lens.   
  
Aki had looked up to see Asami smirking and blushed even more as he stammered out a thank you. Most locations didn't require a key but some did. Most recently his grandfather had purchased several older buildings in Kōtō and refurbished them as low rent housing. Part of doing this had included cleaning up the streets around the buildings and working with the city to restore busing services to them.   
  
There had been a lot of complaints by the street vendors that lost their locations with the cleanup, but Asami had stepped in and solved their issues. He'd bought the bulk of the old shipping district. Fully four fifths of the location now belonged to him and he tore down most of the unsafe warehouses, refurbished the ones that could be saved, and set up open air market stalls in the cleared out areas. Then he'd opened two restaurants and a new club in the area. Suddenly the old wharf was the place to be.   
  
The refurbishing had included upgrading the building security systems but since many of the old buildings in Koto were behind in technology the locks required fingerprints and an electronic key. Aki had one of those keys in his camera bag because his grandfather, when he visited Tokyo, stayed at the top of one of the refurbished apartment buildings.   
  
Aki reached into the right front pocket of his ripped jeans and pulled out the key chain. The key to his grandfather's apartment hung from it and he clearly remembered complaining to Asami about the flimsy chain he'd bought breaking before he'd even been able to put the key on it and how the shop keep had just pointed to the sign in the store reminding customer there were "absolutely no refunds".   
  
Aki sighed and put the key chain back into his pocket. I guess I won't have to find a replacement now. He wondered into the living area and checked that is was clean for what was probably the fifth time that morning. Neither he nor Asami were religious. The Takabas had practice Shinto as did many of Asami's people. His grandfather and Sachiel were atheist, but celebrated the secular portions of many Christian holidays. So Asami and he were hosting a Christmas Party.   
  
In Japan the holiday still mainly revolved around lovers. Santa visited small children, but the bulk of the population only spent time with their significant other and most treated it like a second Valentine's Day or White Day. It was a time to give your loved one gifts.   
  
His extended family; Aki paused with that thought and had to wipe tears out of his eyes before he could finish his check of the room. He had family; they weren't going to just disappear and they weren't with him out of pity or desire to control him. He heard the door open and he quickly turned to walk back towards the hallway.   
  
He wasn't sure who was coming into the penthouse but he didn't want anyone to know he was crying. Especially considering how stupid it was to cry over his own sappy thoughts. He was an adult damn it. His emotions didn't control him.   
  
He stepped into his room; more a work room than a bedroom now. Since being rescued from both Mathis and Aloysius he'd slept in Asami's bed. It had never been discussed but both of them silently acknowledged that they slept better when they could reach out and touch each other. It also helped deter the worst of Akihito's nightmares.   
  
Since he slept in there, most of his personal items had slowly made their way into the bedroom as well. This room served as a location for his photography and a cot to nap on when he got too tired. His parents had corrected the physical damage done to his body by forced starvation, but he occasionally found himself without the stamina he felt he should have and he'd already caught three viruses since the beginning of the school semester.   
  
That meant that the room held an ample supply of tissue which he availed himself of and wiped across his still tearing eyes. He was breathing deeply in an effort to keep back the sobs rising in his throat when warm arms wrapped themselves around his chest and pulled him backwards.   
  
The smell of cloves, Dunhills, and whisky surrounded him. They warmed his body, soothed his emotions, and calmed his mind. He closed his eyes and leaned into Asami's chest muttering, "You said you wouldn't be home for several more hours."   
  
Asami chuckled, "I had not planned on coming home so soon, but your repeated cleanings of the kitchen and living room led your guards to believe something was wrong. Kano got worried."   
  
Akihito groaned, "I forgot there were cameras in the main areas." He pushed himself from Asami's chest, "Go back to work, I'm fine." He crossed to his desk and busied himself with logging into his laptop. "I mean it, there's nothing wrong."   
  
Asami stood and watched him for several minutes before saying, "I'll go, but only because I want to finish all that paperwork Kirishima has for me. I don't want him calling tomorrow and interrupting us." He stepped up behind Aki, reached over his shoulder and placed a wrapped package on the desk next to Akihito's laptop. "Here open this. It will keep your mind off whatever it is that is not bothering you today."   
  
Asami didn't wait for a reply, kissed the top of Aki's head, and left the room. He left the door to the room open and Akihito heard the front door beep as Asami left for the second time that day.   
  
Akihito glared at the package and then ignored it. Instead he worked on the images he'd taken of one of the Christmas bazars in Yotsuya. All the restaurants, clubs, and izakaya had opened their doors and put booths on the street under the many strung holiday lights. Aki was building a large wall piece which followed one blurred shopper in a red coat with white fur cuffed black boots, a red hat, and a white furred scarf from booth to booth.   
  
The shopper was actually Toshiro the tallest of his guards. The coat, boots, hat, and cap were loaners from one of his grandfather's fire Mages. The piece would eventually be called "Santa's Secret" but right now it was just a bunch of random images with the human's all but blurred out of existence. Akihito had wanted to capture the buildings, the booths, and their offerings as the focus of the piece. He'd taken nearly four hundred photos that night and had only whittled it down to a little under a hundred in the past week.   
  
He'd promised to have the piece ready for Aibi-sense by the time Christmas and New Year's break was over. That only left him another six days to complete it. He spent several hours at the work and when he unbent from his laptop and stretched he felt immensely better. I should have come in here and worked to begin with he thought as he saved his work and shut the laptop down. He pushed away from the desk and glanced at the vid clock in the room. His eyes caught on the gift from Asami.   
  
He fingered the silky bow; then smiled to his self as he picked up the present and carried it into the kitchen. It was nearly two hours past noon and he'd worked through lunch. They weren't having dinner until late so he felt no guilt at pulling out the left over rice from breakfast, bits of the already chopped vegetables for the morning and the last piece of sea bass in the refrigerator.   
  
He looked straight at one of the cameras he knew the location of and pointed to stove top before mouthing, "There is plenty come have lunch with me."   
  
He was setting out the large bowl of stir fry and bowls of Miso soup when the front door chimed and his six main guards strolled in. He frowned at them then pointed at the table, "I shouldn't feed you after you told Asami I cleaned the kitchen to many times this morning."   
  
He went back into the kitchen and fetched a large pot of green tea and cups. Kano took the tray from his hands as he picked it up and nodded at the table. "I'll get this sir, please eat."   
  
Akihito glared at his head guard but didn't argue. He was hungry and that was an unusual enough occurrence these days that he sat and picked up his chopsticks. When Kano set the tea and sat down himself Aki said, "Itadakimasu" and dug into the food. The guards followed with their own thanks but ate at a slower pace.   
  
An hour later found Akihito pacing the living room floor. The box Asami had given him sat still unwrapped on their coffee table and their halovid displayed a roaring fire backed by the soft sounds of instrumental Christmas music. Takato, Kou, Kaida, and Sachiel would be over soon to decorate the potted fir tree Aibi-Sense had arranged to be delivered while Aki was cleaning up from lunch. Kano and two of his guards had gone down to meet the delivery van and bring the plant up. According to the card the tree could be moved out to the largest balcony in mid-March until then Akihito just had to water it each day.   
  
The concierge pinged the penthouse to inform him that there were several packages that needed someone to sign for them. Akihito sighed but said he'd be down in a few moments. Toshiro and Hiroshi were standing outside the door when he opened it. He grinned sheepishly at them, "Um, the concierge says there are packages to be signed for."   
  
Toshiro frowned, "That is odd; doesn't the concierge usually sign for them."   
  
Akihito shrugged, "I didn't think about that, but I told him I was coming down so I might as well go now." He set off down the hallway. Toshiro and Hiroshi followed Akihito grimaced on the inside. The constant hovering was getting on his nerves.   
  
They took the express down; entering the special code that prevented the elevator from stopping at any other floors. There was what appeared to be controlled chaos going on in the lobby. No less than nine delivery people were waiting for someone to sign for the pile of packages stacked near the front desk. Additionally there were four catering groups clustered together with cold and hot boxes sitting next to each of them.   
  
Akihito looked around and found the only other people in the lobby, besides themselves, was a frazzled looking concierge and a bulky man carrying a large black briefcase cuffed to his wrist. The two men were holding a polite but tense conversation as the concierge repeated that the man was not allowed beyond the lobby without an escort and the man repeated that he would only relinquish the delivery to Takaba Akihito in person.   
  
Before Aki could say anything Toshiro stepped forward and addressed the two men. "Takaba-sama, will gladly sign for the delivery, sir. However I must insist that I be allowed to inspect the package before it is handed over."   
  
The bulky man looked Toshiro up and down and then nodded. He sat the briefcase on the counter and opened it. Toshiro and the man stood so that the contents of the briefcase were hidden, yet Hiroshi still stepped in front of Akihito as if to shield from whatever may happen.   
  
It took all of Akihito's will power to prevent himself from shoving his guard aside and marching up to the counter. Luckily, Toshiro stepped back about the time Aki's willpower started to desert him and gestured for Hiroshi to allow their charge up to sign for the delivery.   
  
The bulky man closed the briefcase and turned to hold it so that Aki could press his thumb against the tablet embedded in the case's side. Once the tablet beeped the man nodded and walked out of the building's main entrance. He left a long flat soft sided pouch which held the outline of a tablet computer in it and thick but small square box about the size of the one Aki had still not unwrapped in the penthouse. Both were bright red and had long gold ribbons wrapped about them and tied in fancy bows.   
  
"They are from Asami-sama and you are to wait to open them." Toshiro said.   
  
Aki fingered the larger of the two bows and nodded, "hum." His wayward thoughts were interrupted by the clamor of the others waiting for signatures.   
  
The concierge bowed to him stammering out, "I'm so sorry Takaba-sama, but they all insist you validate the deliveries yourself."   
  
Akihito nodded, "It is fine. Who got here first?"   
  
It took over an hour for Akihito worked his way through the list of deliveries. Each person wanted him to validate the number and size of the packages they'd brought. Most he knew were coming. There were several gifts for their friends and family that they'd ordered from other locations on the island or overseas. Additionally there were packages from nearby stores that apparently Asami and his sister had arranged to have delivered that afternoon.   
  
Between getting those packages up to the penthouse and the escorting the caterers Asami had insisted Akihito hire, so he wouldn't end up spending the entire party cooking, the task took most of the rest of the waiting time before his sister and friends arrived to decorate.   
  
It had been Sachiel that had suggested they decorate together. He and Akihito's grandfather insisted that the bulk of the fun was getting to put the decorations out as a group. So it was at nearly six in the evening Toshiro ushered in Akihito's sister, Kou, Takato, Sachiel, and to Akihito's surprise his grandparents Silber Elbel and Masumi. It was a surprise because they were supposed to be overseeing the celebrations at the main family home of the Silberdrache. Surely the man hadn't skipped his duties just to be here?   
  
His question must have shown on his face. His grandfather frowned then wrapped and arm about his shoulders, "Royce is overseeing the events for the Clan. He told us to spend time with you and Kaida before she reached the seclusion stage of her pregnancy."   
  
"Oh." Akihito made note to send the young man a note of thanks. His sister loved the time their grandparents spent in Tokyo and had been disappointed they weren't going to get to spend the first Christmas after finding each other together.   
  
It was a relief that one of the older teenagers rescued from Aloysius had been a Jo. After only about forty-five days Fei had allowed the young man to take Mage's of his own most from the same set the dragon had taken under his wing after their initial discovery. DNA tests had been done on all the children in an effort to find the most compatible Jō. It had been with great relief that most of the children had bonded with their best matches at the onset.   
  
Royce had been the oddity. He'd been the only Jō in the mix and when Fei brought him to the council in November it had been with the intention to find a proper guide for him to start his own clan. However, Elbel had surprised them all by offering to guide the young Jō until such time as he was old enough and able enough to take over the Silberdrache. Royce had agreed.   
  
The bulk of the Verräter family had been part of Aloysius' plans and had been punished according to the Laws of the People. Those left were more than happy to allow Royce to take over as Family head having lived in fear of Aloysius for to many years. With that decision the world of the People had settled down and flowed back into the underworld of the planet.   
  
Aki nodded at his grandfather and moved about the living room checking that everyone had something to drink or snack on. He had moved the gifts from Asami into his work room and spread the snacks delivered for the decorating party out on the main dining room table. The coffee and side tables in the living room held several unopened boxes of decorations through which everyone was now digging. The group was holding up various ornaments and garland when Aki entered the room with a warm cider for his grandmother. They all looked at him expectantly.   
  
He realized they were waiting on him to take charge and tell them what should be done first and he didn't know. It wasn't his holiday. Shouldn't Sachiel or his grandparents be in charge? Did it matter that it was the penthouse? Where there rules to be followed? Did they have to stare at him? The room started spinning and Akihito found he was having difficulty breathing. Kaida frowned at him and he quickly stumbled out of the room, entering his workroom, closing the door, and locking it before wrapping his arms about himself and sliding to the floor next to it.   
  
Akihito felt warm arms wrap about him and Asami whispered that everything was fine in his head. There was a knock at the door and Asami told him Sachiel was willing to talk to him if he wanted. He started to shake his head 'no' then paused and nodded 'yes'. He heard the door unlock and Sachiel slipped into the room relocking the door behind him.   
  
The older man sat on the floor next to Aki pulled his own knees up, looped his arms about them and started talking. He spoke about his first Christmas memory and how as a young boy he'd adored the season. Oh, he'd enjoyed the sight of tinsel and lights, the smell of roasted chestnuts and mincemeat pies, and sound of the carolers as they sang old and new hymns from door to door, but his favorite part of the season had always been the decorating party his mother held.   
  
It had meant that his cousins and distant relatives would visit. They would play a multitude of games and eat the snacks and drinks his mother and their staff would make until they nearly burst. Best of all, his father spent the season far away from them. The man would spend most of December and January in the far northern artic fishing and hunting with the Scandinavian members of his Family.   
  
Akihito knew about Sachiel's abusive and controlling father. Sachiel had shared the first story about his family in one of their early private sessions. He'd followed the story asking if Akihito was going to treat him differently now that he knew. Did Sachiel deserve to be slighted, ignored, or unloved because his father had been abusive? Akihito had of course answered with a resounding 'No'. The man had then asked why he thought he should be treated that way when he'd gone through much worse. Aki still didn't have an answer for that. Sachiel talked until Aki looked up from his arms.   
  
Then he smiled down at him and ruffled his hair, "Feel better?"   
  
Akihito felt Asami kiss his hair and Aki shrugged, "I don't know."   
  
"That's ok. It is normal not to know and it's normal to not feel ok. Everybody wants me to apologize for putting you on the spot like that."   
  
Aki stretched his legs out, "I'm not even certain why I panicked. You guys were probably just wondering if I was ready to start."   
  
"True, that doesn't change that you felt cornered. Panic attacks aren't always going to make sense. I told you that."   
  
"I just left everybody though, some host I am." Aki picked at a hanging thread on his jeans. "I shouldn't have tried to do this. I'm just going to mess it up."   
  
Sachiel hummed before saying, "The wonderful thing about decorating for Christmas with your family is that there is very little you can do to 'mess it up'. You're just supposed to have fun."   
  
"Fun, I can't even do that right. At the first sign of it I burst into tears." He gestured around the room, "and run away and hide." He tried to mentally push out of Asami's arms but it didn't work and he growled out loud, "I'm not made of glass damn it."   
  
Aki thrust himself to his feet and started pacing the floor, ranting at his lifemate in his head. Then he turned and glared at Sachiel saying aloud like Sachiel had been able to hear their all along, "and what's worse is Asami bought me several gifts. How am I supposed to earn them!"   
  
Sachiel frowned, "Aki, you don't have to earn gifts." He rose slowly keeping as far from Akihito as he could. Asami was relaying what was going through Akihito's thoughts to him. The boy was fighting images of being back in Mathis' control. It happened from time to time though Sachiel and Asami both had noticed it happen most often when Akihito was tired or sick or like right now feeling like he'd messed up. It was times like these that Asami and Akihito being lifemates that made Sachiel's job easier.   
  
He silently urged his Jō to hurry, knowing the man was already on his way home. Then he walked across the room and pulled the now collapsed young man into his arms. "Aki, you're not in the lab. You are in the penthouse. Open your eyes." The door clicked open and Sachiel gladly relinquished his hold on the boy to man that entered.   
  
Aki was curled up on the cold floor of the glass walled room at the lab with his arms wrapped about his head and his eyes squeezed shut. He felt arms go around him and the smell of cloves, Dunhills, and whiskey filled his senses. He lifted his head and blinked at his lifemate, "Asami?"   
  
His lifemate's response was to pull him onto his lap, the room about them changed and he was back in his workroom in the penthouse. It took Akihito several minutes to remember how he got there. He blushed once he realized what had happened, so much for not being made of glass.   
  
Asami spoke aloud after that thought. "I've never thought you were made of glass, Kitten."   
  
That more than the embarrassing position of being held in his lifemates arms after allowing himself to succumb to an awake nightmare caused Akihito to push at Asami's chest in an effort to extract himself from the man's lap. Not that his attempt worked. Instead Asami stood with Akihito in his arms and settled both of them on the small bed.   
  
He looked down at Aki who suddenly couldn't look his lifemate in the eyes and asked the question that Akihito realized he had wanted to avoid all afternoon, "Do you want me to take the gift back?"   
  
Aki choose to address the number rather than the actual question, "Don't you mean gifts as in plural?"   
  
Asami shook his head and ran his fingers through Aki's hair. If Aki leaned into the touch no one in the room chose to comment. "I told you this morning that yours has a bunch of little pieces to it. It is only one gift." He tilted Aki's head back making his lifemate look into his eyes, "I complied with your request I stay out of your thought so I wouldn't know what you've got planned, but some of them are so loud I can hear you across town. You're seriously worrying me."   
  
"I'm sorry." He felt stupid. "I don't know why I am over reacting. I know that I am." He buried his face in Asami's neck when the man loosened his hold. The smell of Dunhills, whiskey, and cloves surrounded him again. It was as he was allowing the smells and arms of his lifemate to calm him that he realized what was actually wrong.   
  
He pushed against Asami until the man let him sit back, stared a hole into Asami's chest, and then took a deep breath before he said, "You surround me with guards that won't even let me trip, load me up with meaningless tasks so I'm not bored, and hired an army of doctors to see I'm kept physical and mentally healthy. When I protest you and everyone else say I don't have to worry because I'm your lifemate and you're supposed to do these things for me."   
  
He pushed off of Asami's lap tears once again in his eyes, "How am I supposed to measure up to that? What are you possibly getting out of being my lifemate?"   
  
Asami gestured for Sachiel to leave the room. Then he stood slowly, partially so that he would not startle the very vulnerable young man standing in front of him but mostly so that he could gather his thoughts. Then he sighed and spoke, "I'm sorry."   
  
Akihito gasped and his head shot up so that he was looking in Asami's eyes, "Why?"   
  
"Because I can't undo what was done to you by Mathis and Aloysius. Because I can't prevent what their actions are doing to you now. Because more than anything else in the whole multiverse I haven't been able to get you to see yourself the way I see you. So very strong in ways I will never be."   
  
"What are you talking about? I've never even seen you cry much less get all emotional over stupid shit." Aki brushed at his tears ineffectually. "I'm not strong at all."   
  
"Aren't you?" Asami gently reached out and brushed Aki's tears. "You have gone through more in the past eighteen years than most People or humans go through in a lifetime and yet you still get up every single day and smile. You've gone without the most basic of necessities and when you receive them you still share with others. You've been physically and mentally tortured any yet you still give a damn about the pain you've caused your own tormentors. Tell me, how that is anything but strength?"   
  
Aki shook his head, "I…."   
  
Asami placed a finger on Akihito's lips, "I'm not done yet." He tugged Aki into his arms and kissed the top of his head, "The real problem with us being lifemates is that I will never measure up to you." He kissed Aki's head again when his kitten stiffened, "It is true. When my sister died in the Jini separatist prison I used the last of the power she fed me to blow open the door keeping the rest of us trapped."   
  
Asami closed his eyes and his voice lowered becoming tight with repressed anger. "I bonded with the rest of the children as Jo to Mage and then led them up through the darkness. I slaughtered everyone that got in our way even other children. Everyone between us and freedom were the enemy. It was only luck that our group ran into a contingent of troops from the Council that was led by my father that prevented me from using the others' powers to annihilate everyone in the compound."   
  
He pushed Aki back just enough so that he could look into his kitten's eyes. "I still think about doing just that to those that harm what is mine. I will always persuade, coerce, blackmail, or outright steal what I want from the world around me and I will never hesitate to harm or even kill another if I feel it is needed to achieve my goals or protect my own. How can that ever measure up to your boundless ability to give?"   
  
Aki started crying again, "You really think that of me of yourself?"   
  
Asami nodded, "Yes."   
  
Aki grabbed his lifemate about the waist burying his face in the man's chest, "You don't give yourself enough credit." He shook his head and looked back up at the man, "and you're giving me far too much."   
  
Asami smiled, "I believe the opposite." He stepped back, reached into his pocket and knelt to the ground, "I once asked you if you would allow me to allow me to be the conduit of your magic, to guide the growth of your powers, to grant me the privileges of overseeing your training, preserving your health, and protecting your life until time ends. You agreed to do so as Jo to Mage."   
  
He pulled a small gold velvet box tied with a tiny sapphire silk ribbon from his pocket reached out and placed it into Aki's left palm, "Will you allow me to show you just what you are worth for the rest of our lives?"   
  
Aki's fingers trembled so much that he almost couldn't pull the ribbon free. Once he did the velvet box opened using a small hinge. The ring was made to look like a camera lens. It was made of black ceramic with numbers made of blue carbon fiber. The focal length and aperture dials actually spun. Aki looked at the ring in the box and then looked up at Asami, "Are you asking me to marry you?"   
  
Asami took the ring from the box, "I do believe I am."   
  
Aki laughed pushed the box back into Asami's hands. Asami was slightly shocked at the reaction but before he could formulate any questions Aki had dug through the bottom of is desk drawer and came back to Asami holding his own tiny velvet box. It was black and tied with a tiny silver threaded grey silk ribbon. He took the open box back from Asami and pushed his into the man's hands.   
  
Asami found the small box held a ring as well. It was a Mokume Symmetry band of black and silver with a deep line of gold surrounding a thin band of tiny blue sapphire stones. He looked up at Akihito with a question on his lips.   
  
Akihito smiled, "I had been saving part of what you put in Kaida and mine account from my job." He looked down at the floor and mumbled, "Originally I was squirreling it away so that we'd have funds in case this all," he waved his hands about the room, "fell apart. I had Kaida help me get the ring last week."   
  
Asami smiled, pulled Akihito back to his chest and then kissed his kitten's upturned face. They put the rings on each other's fingers and Aki stared at his for several seconds before frowning, "This doesn't really answer my question. What are you getting out of this lifemate business?"   
  
Asami pulled the boy closer and whispered into his ear, "You."   
  
Akihito blushed and was trying to formulate an answer to that when the sounds of laughter reached him. He sighed, "I'm sorry I freaked out."   
  
Asami chuckled, "Next time you feel overwhelmed, reach out to me. I plan on being a steady shoulder for a very long time." He maneuvered Akihito towards the door, "I think we should go tell everyone we're engaged now don't you?"   
  
Akihito balked at the door, "We can't! Kaida hasn't asked Kirishima yet!"   
  
Asami laughed, "Don't worry; I'm sure they will both get to it."   
  
"I can't get married before they do. They have a baby on the way." He looked down at his ring and was about to tug it off when Asami covered his hands. He looked back up.   
  
"It will be ok. Kirishima has plans to ask her tomorrow and he and I have already arranged for a small wedding New Year's Eve. They'll be married before she goes into seclusion."   
  
"Oh." Aki allowed himself to be maneuvered out of the room. It was pointless to try and stay holed up all night. One it would have been rude to his grandparents, two Asami, Sachiel, and Kaida would have spent the night worried about him, and lastly he wasn't physically strong enough to fight his lifemate's manipulations. So after several deep breaths he plastered a smile to his face, stepped out of the room, took three short steps from the door, and entered the living area.   
  
The spacious area had been transformed. The potted fir was bedecked in tinsel and lights. Various colors blinking at various speeds bounced their beams off the white ceiling and floors. The silver and gold tinsel and many gemmed ornaments that hung from the branches gleamed. Holly and ivy hung from the edges of the framed art around the room and near the end of the hallway hung a bright green swath of leaves and white berries.   
  
It was Aki's grandfather that pointed to this decoration saying, "Ryuichi, you have to kiss your lifemate now. He's stopped under the mistletoe."   
  
Aki shook his head 'no' but Asami just grinned and swooped Aki back into his arms before giving him a quick peck on the cheek and whispering, "I'll spend more time at this spot after they all leave." Their family just whistled and laughed.   
  
They spent the rest of the evening exchanging presents and eating. Kei and Kaida got a lot of baby items. Akihito had gotten them a framed photograph of them sitting together on a park bench. In it Kaida sat in Kei's lap. The background had been muddied out nearly completely and the couple's features were blurred so that you could hardly tell it was them in the photo.   
  
The only part of the picture not blurred was of their clasped hands which jointly held a small rolled sheaf of music. The image had been blown up to be as tall as Kaida and twice as wide. It was framed in a basket woven steel frame that had a small black plaque on its bottom. The black held three words, 'Koi wo suru (To be in love)'.   
  
The group spent the rest of the evening teasing Kirishima, who had blushed at the picture's title, which was something Akihito was more than willing to join in on.   
  
It was nearly midnight when the last of their guest left. By that time Akihito was wired on caffeine and sugar. Their guests had helped put away the leftover food and had helped pick up the wrapping paper and ribbon. Other than throws and pillows out of place the place was mainly clean.   
  
Asami found Akihito curled up on the long white couch staring at the halovid fire and humming along to the tune that was playing in the background. Asami sat at his kitten's head and was pleasantly surprised when the boy pulled his head onto Asami's lap. He smiled and said, "We should probably head to bed."   
  
Akihito turned from the fire and looked up at Asami's face and smiled, "Yeah, let's do that." He started to roll to his feet only to have Asami pull him into his arms.   
  
The man rose and carried Akihito like a bride down the hall and over their bedroom threshold. He had planned on carrying his kitten to the bed and kissing him senseless but there was a large package wrapped in an angora blanket with alternating lines of gold and blue framing a dark grey square in which sat a large nine tailed black fox leaning protectively over a smaller three tailed silver fox. Asami smiled and lowered Aki to his feet, "I thought we were giving each other our gifts tomorrow?"   
  
Aki smiled back and pointed to the clock, "It is tomorrow." The halovid numbers of their room's alarm read 00:02.   
  
Asami laughed, crossed the short space and pulled the blanket from the large rectangular item it covered and almost gasped in surprise.   
  
It was another of Akihito's pictures. This one was another four panel story board and was about their bed. In the far right the bed was made in the next panel Asami lay in the bed asleep, though unless you knew it was their bed it looked like it was just a large ebony haired man sleeping there. In the next the bed was disheveled but Aki's outline and blonde locks peeked out from the thin sheet that otherwise covered him completely.   
  
The last was of them together. Asami's larger frame curled around Aki's smaller one. Like the gift to his sister Aki had had this framed as well. Only the frame was a solid oak stained black and the small brass plate on the front of it read 'A Place to Sleep'.   
  
Asami had looked over the picture and understood its meaning in mere moments. It was not the photographs or Akihito's emerging skills that had surprised the man.   
  
No, the images were just background noise to the real gift laying pooled at the base of the frame, it was two soft linen ropes, one of bright white and the other the same blue of his kitten's eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started this story I had planned on finishing it just before Christmas. I first wrote the first chapter "A Place to Sleep" and then the last chapter "A Place to Sleep" first and both were very poorly edited.   
> I then set about trying to figure out how Aki and Kaida got from the first chapter to the last. 
> 
> What a chase they set Asami and I on.
> 
> My plans to write a smutty encounter after Aki gave back the ropes quickly fell to the side. It was never part of the last chapter and while at first I felt I owed it to you all, when I wrote it last weekend it just felt wrong. 
> 
> There will be more smut in my other works but for the Aki of this story it was important to show he finally does trust Asami, even when he still does not trust he deserves it.


	18. Apendix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following is all the notes from research and planning that I did as part of building a relate-able and realistic AU. a lot of this research was done pre-writing a chapter some was done mid chapter I keep these types of notes for two reason.  
> 1) I want to give credit where credit is due. Even if it is only to a clothing or jewelry store I use a piece from as inspiration or "copy" from in near detail.  
> 2) I will always have the references already created and noted if I want a similar theme. :-)

**Time Periods**  
Missing Pieces takes place in 2366 (24th Century) Year of the Dog)  
Asami was born 1444 and is 722 at the story's begining. (Year of the Rat)  
His sister was only four year's older (born 1440)  
Aki and Kaida were born 2348 (Year of the Dragon)  
  
**Original Characters**  
Vurste Mathias - Lord of smaller Family of the Silberdrache (Fire Mage)  
Verräter (Silber) Aloysius - Traitor  & Nephew to Elbel  
Silber Elbel (Masumi - wife) - German for Bright Silver (Akihito's and Kaida's grandfather) - lord of the Silberdrache Clan.  
Silber Royce - Teenager tapped to take over the Silberdrache after beign resuced from Aloysius' Cult  
Morihogosha Aibi - Akihito's Mentor in Photography  
Taimukiipaa Chimon - Head Priest ( kannushi (神主, "god master")) for Yakyu Inari Shrine, the Baseball Shrine in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama  
Kano, Takeo, & Toshiro (and Daichi, Hiroshi, Kage & Yuu) - Akihito's Guards  
Yasuo, Shin, & Ohta (male guards) Nara, Rini, & Cho (Female Guards) - Kaida' Guards  
Riki - sensei - Asami's Personal Physcian - Turned Human - Wind  
  
**How tall is Everyone?**  
It was supprising how important this was to know and be able to refrence easily. Whoel scenes read wrong when I'd forget who was taller than who. :-/  
185 cm - Asami Ryuichi  
162 cm - Takaba Akihito  
192 cm - Kirishima Kei  
213 cm - Suoh Kazumi  
152 cm - Takaba Kaida  
  
  
**Words and thier meanings** (Yes, some of these everyone already know, but again you'd be surprised at how one can forget something they've used a million times while writeing.)  
Kinbaku-bi Shibari - nawashi  
Oyakata - Master Practicianer  
Jō - Chief Sovereign  
Sanrantaru - Radiant  
mizu - Water  
chikyū - Earth  
kūki - Air  
kasai - Fire  
shitenchou - branch manager  
futoi - fat/thick  
Itadakimasu - thanks for the food  
Irrashaimase - Welcome  
Nani ka sukidesu ka? - Would you like anything?  
dogeza - floor bow to ask for forgiveness or favor  
hai - Yes  
Īe - No  
Otou-san - father  
Okaa-san - mother  
ani Older Brother  
ane Older Sister  
otouto Younger Brother  
imouto Younger Sister  
dōmo arigatō - thank you  
Arigatō - Thanks  
iatrophobia – the medical name for fear of doctors  
Chīsai - tiny  
Megane-san - 'Glasses'  
Yakuza - Japanese Criminal Families by Promise/Pledge  
hakase - having high acidemic cridentials like a doctor's degree  
worthless fox - wertloser fuchs  
Double Helix - Doppelhelix  
Haru - Spring  
Natsu - Summer  
Aki - Autumn  
Fuyu - Winter  
Sēfu - secure  
  
**List of resources used for creating the atmosphere and terminology used in Club "Tomei Nawa":**  
<https://www.ropemarks.com/>(NOT SAFE FOR WORK)  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_bondage#Kinbaku_patterns>  
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvB7uPVsobg&has_verified=1]() (how to tie an ebi - verbal instructions are in German though. :-( )  
Kinbaku-bi (Shibari)  
Tomoe - chaning the direction of the rope so it looks like a comma  
Tomei nawa - safy rope, stop rope  
  
  
the Instraments Used  
Shamisen - three stringed lute popular in Kabuki theater  
Biwa - four stringed lute  
Koto - lap harp  
shaku hachi - bamboo flute  
Hichiriki - double reed flute  
sekkin - a lithophone of round river rocks strung together by rope  
  
  
**Kimono Peices**  
  Susoyoke - A thin half-slip-like piece of underwear worn by women under the nagajuban  
  Hadajuban - A thin garment similar to an undershirt. It is worn under the nagajuban  
  Nagajuban - Under garment of Kimono typically cotton can have a removable collar (haneri)  
  Datejime - An undersash that's used to tie your Nagajuban often decrative but typically cotton  
  Hiyoku - single colored kimono robes that are meant to be worn under your main kimono typically only worn by Geisha and Brides.  
  Kimono - Patterned outer garment -- Ofurisode - The sleeves of this version reach nearly to the ground and is only worn by unmarried women or brides  
  Koshihimo - under belt to hold Kimono closed sort of an "underbelt" hidden by the obi  
  Obi - formal belt and "corset"  
  Fukura-suzume musubi (puffed sparrow) is a decorative knot that resembles a sparrow with its wings spread and is worn only by unmarried women. It is suitable for formal occasions and is only worn with a furisode. Traditionally, the fukura-suzume musubi worn with a furisode indicated a woman was available for marriage.  
  Obiage is a scarf-like piece of cloth that covers up the obimakura and keeps the upper part of the obi knot in place. These days it is customary for an unmarried, young woman to let her obiage show from underneath the obi in the front. A married woman will tuck it deeper in and only allow it to peek. Obiage can be thought of as an undergarment for kimono, so letting it show is a little provocative.  
  Obi-ita is a separate stiffener that keeps the obi flat, as it stops it creasing when one bends. It is a thin piece of cardboard (I substituted biodegradable plastic for this) covered with cloth and placed between the layers of obi when putting the obi on. Some types of obi-ita are attached around the waist with cords before the obi is put on.  
  Obi-makura is a small pillow that supports and shapes the obi knot, it acts as bustle padding. The most common knot these days, taiko musubi, is padded out at the top with a makura. Formal obis worn by men are much narrower than those of women (the width is about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) at its most).  
  Obidome is a small decorative accessory (obi 'brooch') that is fastened onto obijime at the centre front of the obi. The obijime threads through it and, when an obidome is worn, the obijime is tied at the back, inside the rear knot, instead of at the front. It is not used very often nowadays.  
  Obijime is a cord, about 150 centimetres (4.9 ft) long, that is tied around the obi and through the knot,[15] and which doubles as decoration. It can be a woven string, or be constructed as a narrow sewn tube of fabric. There are both flat and round obijimes. They often have tassels at both ends and they are made from silk, satin, brocade or viscose. A cord-like or a padded tube obijime is considered more festive and ceremonial than a flat one.  
  Tabi - white split toed socks  
  Zori - formal thonged sandal-like shoes that were traditionally made from straw covered in brocade ( I also substituted woven biodegradable plastic for the straw)  
Uchikake - the outer layer of a bridal kimono. Worn like a coat the Uchikake traditionally has a long train tied up when the woman is out doors but left to trail behind her when in doors and spread about her when she is sitting. It is the piece that makes the circular fan of cloth about the kneeling court ladies in many old images.  
  Kanzashi - Hair ornaments worn by women. Many different styles exist, including silk flowers, wooden combs, and jade hairpins.  
  
  
The most formal men’s kimono is a combination of a hakama (kimono pants) and Haori (kimono jacket).  
The most formal style of kimono is plain black silk with five kamon on the chest, shoulders and back.  
Kamon are small white circles that often have the family's emblem sewn onto it in black. They are left completely white for most occasions the family emblem only used for funerals and weddings (Though this piece of information was not cited).  
The men's obi is worn in much simpler fashion than women's: it is wrapped around the waist, below the stomach and tied with a simple knot in the back.  
Fundoshi - The traditional Japanese undergarment (G-string codpiece) for adult males, made by a length of cotton.  
Kimono - Shorter for males to enable them to wear the Hakama easily.  
Hakama - A divided (umanoribakama) which resembles a wide pair of trousers  
Haori - A hip- or thigh-length kimono-like jacket, which adds formality to an outfit.  
  
List of resources used for creating Kaida's and Akihito's Kimonos:  
<https://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/kimono-layers>  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono>  
  
  
**Chinese**  
QiPao - Chinese Wedding Dress (Northern China)  
[Kaida's Gown](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/lace-red-modern-oriental-wedding-dresses-chinese-traditional-cheongsam-formal-long-dress-traditions-blue-for-women/32695152897.html)  
[Aki's jacket (First Image)](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Chinese-men-s-clothing-Traditional-Groom-wedding-Chinese-Ancient-Costume-Blue-Red-Tunic-Tang-Suit-Gown/32800319221.html)  
[French Heels (item 20)](https://www.beclickless.com/blogs/heel-to-toe/14217957-25-types-of-heels-the-ultimate-guide)  
lǎoshī - teacher  
jiě - older female friend  
gē - older male friend  
  
  
**What makes up the People**  
North America  
   Were Hawks, Were Cyotes, Were Kermode Bear  & Were Ravens  
Central & South America  
   Botos, Iara, Acalia, & Chullachaki  
Africa & Pursian Gulf  
   Were Hyenas (Mpisi), Jini, Peri, & Tikoloshe  
Eastern Western Europe  
   Elves, Dragons, & Werewolves  
Russia  
   Werewolves, Dhampir, & Zmei  
Asia (South and East)  
   Dragons, Weretigers, Nāga, Kitsune, & Kirin  
Australia & Indonesia  
   Yowie, Mimi, & Ebu Gogo  
Sióg - Gaelic word for Fairy  
Oboroten' - Russian word for Werewolf  
Tengshe - Chinese flying Dragon  
Saanp - Hindi word for Serpent  
tetradecagon - a fourteen-sided polygon  
**The Council of 13 ******+Arbatov of the Oboroten' - Russia and Siberia  
+Fie Long of the Tengshe - China  
+Kavya of the Saanp - South Asia  
+Asami of the Kitsune - Japan  
+Aibi of the Sióg - Western Europe  
+Hedía of the Iara - Mexico, Central  & South America  
-Chuva of the Chullachaki - Mexico, Central & South America  
+Magena of the Kermode - North America  
-Fala of the Ohawas - North America  
+/-Ebel of Silberdrache Clan - Eastern Europe  
+Zoya of the Jini - Africa & Pursian Gulf  
-Wekesa of the Mpisi - Africa & Pursian Gulf  
-Vikal of the Ebu Gogo - Australia & Indonesia  
  
  
**Some of the resources used to create the "The People"**  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou  
https://www.lifedeathprizes.com/spooky-stuff/scary-south-american-folklore-monsters-54751  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Brazilian_legendary_creatures>  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Central_African_legendary_creatures>  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chullachaki>  
[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiritori)  
  
  
**Other Random Information**  
Natrual Scents to help Migraines - Feverfew, Butterbur, Ginger, Lavender, Basil, and Peppermint Oils  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_white-eye>  
I just Googled Japanese Sweets for Aki's treats. A recipe site said that most servings were created to be eaten in one or two bites, especially those that are intended to be eaten with tea.  
The Vegetable Mock Crepes are actually a family recipe all I did was substitute rice flour for all purpose white. You can also make the dough less sticky by adding cold butter instead of water. Mix until it can be rolled out on a cutting board. Sliced into strips it can be used for dumplings.  
**Pokemon Resources**  
Bulbasaur (Vine Whip), Chikorita (Razor Leaf), Snivy (Vine Whip), and Rowlet (Leafage and Peck)  
<https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Starter_Pok%C3%A9mon>  
<https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the/japanese-word-for-1dd09baa19dc7688f96e2ea45033603921cd7b83.html>  
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_wards_of_Tokyo#/media/File:Tokyo_special_wards_map.svg>  
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/Japan/@35.7259313,139.7507089,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x34674e0fd77f192f:0xf54275d47c665244!8m2!3d36.204824!4d138.252924>  
<https://takelessons.com/blog/japanese-honorifics-z05>  
ABLIC Inc. – Semiconductor Manufacturer - http://japan-product.com/ads/page/2/  
Aki's room at Fei Longs was outfited by pieces I found here: https://www.chinafurnitureonline.com/thumbnail.asp?offset=0 &deep=1&cid=102  
Aki's pet fish - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/6825836914460019/  
http://tangorin.com/general/forest%20guardian  
#33 Rotating Camera Spinner Rings from https://awesomestuff365.com/cool-rings-for-men-that-are-unique/  
Mokume Symmetry Bands http://ringsunique.com/product/mokume-symmetry-bands/  
Daisuki da - Why I use it and not "ai shiteiru" - <https://nihongoshark.com/how-to-say-i-love-you-in-japanese/> and <https://nipponrama.com/i-love-you-in-japanese/>


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